The U.S. men’s national team made history in more ways than one in their 5–1 demolition of Uruguay at Raymond James Stadium on Tuesday.
Mauricio Pochettino made wholesale changes to his final USMNT lineup of 2025 against their toughest opponent post-Concacaf Gold Cup. Despite nine alterations, the U.S. put together their best performance ever under the Argentinian manager. So much so that they broke some records along the way.
The USMNT put on an offensive clinic against Uruguay in the first half scoring four goals in a 26-minute span. Sebastian Berhalter scored a Toni Kroos-esque free kick in the 17th minute to get things started as Alex Freeman added a brace shortly after. Diego Luna put the game truly to bed in the 43rd minute with a darting run into the box after a slick passing exchange down the left flank.
It was the 11th time since 1970 that the USMNT scored four goals in a first half, according to Opta.
Tanner Tessmann added a fifth off the bench in the second half marking the first time the USMNT had ever scored five goals against a CONMEBOL opponent, a World Cup-winning nation and a top 30 ranked FIFA country.
Inexperience? What Inexperience?
Names like Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and others were absent for the final camp of 2025. There was experience available for selection against Uruguay, but Pochettino still chose to rotate.
According to Opta, this was the least experienced USMNT lineup in an official FIFA window since 2005 with an average of 14.1 caps. Though, this looked like a team well organized and up for the task. This inexperienced lineup on paper secured the first two-win window against CONMEBOL teams since June 2016.
Not to mention, this was arguably the best performance of the Pochettino era in multiple regards. Their pressing, work rate on and off the ball and attacking sequences looked slick, intuitive and regimented. Their draw against Ecuador, featuring some of those aforementioned November absentees, back in October was previously spoken about in a similar light.
Their win against Uruguay improved on everything shown last month and sends the USMNT into 2026 on the highest note possible. Underlining their success, outside of developing Major League Soccer talent, has been Pochettino’s switch to a 3-4-3 formation. The USMNT look more composed in possession and solid at the back despite some sloppy moments.
The World Cup host nation are finally seeing the fruits of their labor after a difficult year in many regards.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT Make International History in 5–1 Rout of Uruguay.
