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John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images
The United States men’s national team looked fairly lifeless through the first hour or so of Tuesday’s friendly against New Zealand, a reminder that freshly-appointed head coach Mauricio Pochettino might indeed have his work cut out for him.
And then Christian Pulisic happened.
The USMNT’s star winger, brought on as a substitute in the 57th minute, broke a scoreless deadlock in the 69th minute, providing his country with a spark in what was ultimately a 1-1 draw.
The good feelings didn’t last long.
Just 20 minutes a series of defensive blunders squandered the USMNT’s lead, with the look of anguish on Matt Turner’s face reflected by American supporters tuning in:
And so fans and pundits alike were of two minds.
The first was that Pulisic was yet again deserving of high marks:
The second, however, was that the USMNT provided a fairly listless performance—albeit in a meaningless friendly with an interim manager at the helm—and that the Pochettino era can’t begin soon enough:
herculez gomez @herculezg
Mauricio Pochettino can’t come soon enough. <br><br>I don’t know what’s more pathetic: the turnout in the stands (both games) or the <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/USMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#USMNT</a> heart. <br><br>Mikey Varas looks like he’s in a Southwest commercial.
mike b @Blumema
Lots of possession but very uninspiring performance tonight <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/USMNT?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#USMNT</a>. pulisic the only one willing to take anyone on… I don’t think Pepsi has taken a positive touch the entire 2nd half… never even touched the ball facing goal… no runs in the 18 just keep away for 90 min
A few points of context to consider.
The first is that the USMNT did appear to score a goal in the first half but had it disallowed, a surprise given there was no VAR in the match.
Another is that there has been a general sense of uncertainty around this team while the Pochettino hiring—which was rumored for weeks—was being finalized. Playing a meaningless friendly under a manager who is simply a placeholder isn’t the easiest type of match to get up for.
Those aren’t excuses, of course—the United States has far too much talent to draw with New Zealand. There is plenty to clean up in the Pochettino era after Gregg Berhalter’s tenure ended with enduring mediocrity.