The U.S. men’s national team lost their first friendly of the September international break 2–0 to South Korea in Harrison, NJ.
It was their sixth loss in their last eight games against top-25 ranked teams since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. For Mauricio Pochettino specifically, he sees his record in charge drop to 10-0-7 in all competitions.
The Argentine coach raised a couple eyebrows naming Tristan Blackmon to the starting lineup over Crystal Palace star Chris Richards. Sergiño Dest also returned to the XI after missing out on the Gold Cup over the summer as he returned to full fitness. But, all eyes were on Christian Pulisic given the summer fallout from his decision to skip the Concacaf tournament.
The USMNT started the game with a decent spell of possession, but could not find a way through at Sports Illustrated Stadium. Nearly halfway through the first 45, LAFC superstar Son Heung-min opened the scoring to the dismay of his former boss in the opposing technical area. Lee Dong-gyeong doubled South Korea’s lead just on the verge of halftime to deflate the mood even further.
In the second half, South Korea continued to play with confidence stringing passes together as they built from the back. The USMNT tried to press high up the pitch to create turnovers and put South Korea under pressure. Pochettino made four changes in the 62nd minute bringing on the likes of Folarin Balogun, Alex Freeman, Cristian Roldan and Richards. With it came a formation change as Freeman and Max Arfsten were encouraged to push up further with three central defenders behind them.
Richards nearly brought one back for the Stars and Stripes in the 73rd minute from a set-piece. A looping ball fromSebastian Berhalter came off Richards’s knee, but keeper Jo Hyeon-woo was quick to react. The USMNT pressed higher and looked more comfortable with three at the back, but it didn’t do anything to remedy their threat in the final third. Balogun nearly brought one back in stoppage time with their best chance of the game, but Jo made a massive double save to deny the Monaco striker.
The score ended 2–0 at Sports Illustrated Stadium.
Next up is an international friendly in Columbus, OH against Japan before players return to their clubs. While no competitive games remain between now and the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino needs a better performance to rescue this September break.
USMNT player ratings from the game below.
USMNT Player Ratings vs. South Korea (4-2-3-1)
Subs not used: Jonathan Klinsmann (GK), Roman Celentano (GK), Nathan Harriel, Luca de la Torre, Damion Downs
USMNT Player of the Match: Folarin Balogun
Overall Player of the Match: Jo Hyeon-woo
South Korea (5-4-1): Joe Hyeon-woo; Seol Young-woo, Lee Han-beom, Kim Min-jae, Kim Ju-sung, Lee Tae-seok; Lee Dong-gyeong, Kim Jin-gyu, Paik Seung-ho, Lee Jae-sung; Son Heung-min
Subs: Song Bum-keun (GK), Kim Seung-gyu (GK), Park Jin-seob, Byeon Jun-soo, Kim Moon-hwan, Lee Myung-jae, Seo Min-woo, Park Yong-woo, Oh Heun-gyu, Bae Joon-ho, Jens Castrop, Oh Se-hun, Lee Kang-in, Kim Tae-hyeon, Jeong Sang-bin
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT Player Ratings vs. South Korea: Pochettino Suffers Seventh Loss in 17 Games in 2–0 Defeat.
