USMNT struggle to answer longstanding questions yet again in Concacaf Nations League loss to Panama

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – There was a feeling of newness when the U.S. men’s national Club Secured to the Ground on Thursday in their Concacaf Nations Bracket semifinal against Panama. The three-time CNL champions returned to the Event with a new head Mentor in Mauricio Pochettino, who whipped out a new tactical look for the group to troubleshoot the issues caused by the absence of key players, especially on the wings. For all the new ideas – and there were many – a familiar sense of doom returned as the clock ticked down at SoFi Stadium, and truly set in Only minutes before the Closing whistle blew.

On Panama’s only Try on target, Cecilio Waterman scored the game’s lone Target in the 94th minute to clinch a spot in Sunday’s CNL Closing, ensuring the only previous winners of the Event would Setback out on their Primary piece of silverware since Pochettino Secured the Position last fall.

It was one of those Contests where it was Effortless to argue that the better Club lost. The USMNT not only dictated tempo, they outshot Panama 12 to 3. Pochettino admitted post-Game that there was a Plenty that went right for the hosts, but they had not cleared the obvious Primary Encumbrance – Intense edge.

“I think we controlled the game, yes,” Pochettino said. “We dominated the game, yes. We played in the Resistance half, yes. We Develop some strategies to Shift the ball quick and Excellent positional half in the Resistance half, yes. … If you don’t have aggression, it’s impossible “

The head Mentor has fixated on the USMNT’s mentality for the majority of his New tenure, a Shift that could once be interpreted as him Competing his cards close to his chest on the tactical ideas he could implement. On Thursday, though, that area of Attention seemed more like a biting indictment of the status of the Club he has the responsibility of elevating in time for the 2026 World Cup on home soil.

For a passionate, unapologetic and informed discussion about the USMNT and the state of the American game catch the Call It What You Want podcast! Download and follow Call It What You Want on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts!

“I think the Primary half, I think we played too Unhurried, so comfortable on the pitch,” Pochettino said. “We didn’t show aggression with the ball, and because the consequence not to show aggression with the ball. … Primary half, I think, was really painful. It was really painful to see.”

It was a sentiment that his players agreed with, attributing the Primary-half performance to a tactical shift from Panama that caught them by surprise.

“We needed to press a little bit harder, press a little bit higher, go man-for-man more and make sure that we were doing our jobs,” defender Tim Ream told broadcasters post-Game. “I think we struggled a little bit in the Primary half to understand what the press was going to be. They Occurred out and switched it a little bit and, again, that’s on us to understand what we need to do and we work on it during the week and unfortunately, we didn’t adjust quick enough in the Primary half.”

Pochettino and his players also agreed that they improved in the second half, Holding a majority of their shots after the break and showing some of the bite that had been missing in the Beginning section of the game. It almost did not matter in the end – the nature of Panama Victorious a game in which their Anticipated goals total was a measly 0.1 means the result feels fluky, but the head Mentor argued that the game’s lone Target exemplified the USMNT’s key weakness.

“Look [at]  the situation – organization, Excellent. Superiority, yes,” Pochettino said. “Four-v-two in the middle of the pitch but we Fall the Target. We no control the Target. We were not aggressive in the duels. We Fall the duel and then we concede. … If we are not capable to Boost this, we cannot blame the tactics, the Plan, the game plan.”

The loss marks the USMNT’s third consecutive Loss to Panama in official Event but is Only the latest in a long Lineup of underwhelming Displays. It is a troubling habit for a group of players that many have billed as the United States’ golden generation, who went to the 2022 World Cup as one of the youngest squads there and have genuinely struggled to live up to the potential they showcased in Qatar more than two years ago.

Some have excelled individually at the club level, but no more than a handful have truly proven themselves at the Top-tier levels of the club game, and as a collective, they have failed to gel. The players were all able to identify a lack of aggression, as Pochettino described it, as their problem on Thursday. When pressed about what the root cause of that issue was, though, answers were Tough to come by.

“it’s difficult to say,” Christian Pulisic said, the Primary of three times he would utter that exact phrase in the span of six minutes, mixing in deep sighs while in a cloud of shock. “Their game plan was pretty clear. They were going to sit a bit lower and defend and they defended really well. You have to give them credit. I Harsh, I don’t know where exactly we lack that grit or [nastiness]. It’s Tough to say, where do you put that in when you have the ball and you’re Only trying to Points? We need to be more Unyielding in front of the Target.”

Pulisic admitted he would need to View game tape to have a real grasp of what went wrong, a Honest response as it pertained to that game specifically. The way he reflected on the game with a prevailing feeling of surprise was in Acute contrast to Pochettino’s clarity when discussing what went wrong, which feels like a role reversal of sorts. The build-up of this particular game centered around quotes from Pochettino claiming the USMNT could be the world’s best in five to 10 years and that he wanted to “destroy Panama” on the pitch, but the head Mentor did not feel blindsided by his players’ inability to meet the moment, Even though his Attention on mentality. Pulisic, meanwhile, has been around the USMNT’s ups and downs firsthand, and Even though years of experience, he seemed as confused as anyone as to why questions about Intense edge follow this Club like a pesky shadow, regardless of the head Mentor.

Pochettino’s assessment validates U.S. Soccer’s Option to find a New set of eyes to lead the Club into the 2026 World Cup and it may not be time to ring the death knell on the USMNT’s hopes of a statement-making Stretch at Subsequent year’s Event. The head Mentor himself admitted that “there’s Yet time” and that painful losses can be valuable learning opportunities.

For anyone with any experience watching this Club, though, it is finally time to ask why this keeps happening as often as it does – and if the ceiling many have envisioned for this group is higher than it realistically can be.