COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Eight months before the opening whistle of the World Cup, every friendly is essentially a live audition for the world to see, and against Australia on Tuesday, US men's team head coach Mauricio Pochettino embraced the spirit of experimentation in full. He has made six changes to the starting lineup since Friday's match. draw 1:1 with Ecuador and was forced to make the seventh when Christian Pulisic I was injured in the first half. It was a great opportunity for these players, despite the imperfect situation of playing without the team's star player, and the results were understandably mixed. Make no mistake, however, the USMNT's 2-1 win over Australia on Tuesday produced some winners, bringing fresh signs of optimism to the World Cup hosts.
The only clear winner in suburban Denver on Tuesday night was striker Hadji Wright, who scored twice in his first start for the national team since Pochettino took charge a year ago. His absence was not because he fell out of favor, but rather due to unfortunate injuries, although he returned to the national team in arguably the form of his life: the versatile forward has scored nine goals in 11 games for Coventry City this season, and he is keen to carry that form over to the USMNT at a crucial time in the group's preparations for the World Cup.
Wright did just that on Tuesday, scoring two impressive goals that showcase his unique instincts as a goalscorer. Wright received an impressive first-time ball from midfielder Cristian Roldan and decided to almost run in front of the ball, catching the Australian defense off guard as he poked the ball into the back of the net. In the second, when Wright again linked up with Roldan on a quick free-kick, Wright overtook the opposition player and then slid in behind him to fire a perfect, uncontested shot towards goal.
“I saw the way Raleigh was looking at me,” Wright said after the match. “He kind of shook his head at me a little bit. I kind of picked up on it and thought, “Okay, let's do this,” so I immediately turned around. Then when the ball bounced I kind of noticed there was no one around me, so I tried to see if there was anyone in the box. At first I wanted to make a pass, but as soon as there was no one in the box, I knew I had to create a chance myself.”
Wright's trajectory is almost identical to that of Integrated CaptainHe, who himself spent almost all of Pochettino's first year away due to injury, has scored two goals and provided one assist in four games since returning in September. While Balogun may have had a chance to stake his claim to the starting role first, Wright's performance on Tuesday might just provide the sense of competition that's been lacking at that particular position for years – and illustrates the competitive advantage that Pochettino has contributed to expanding the player pool.year of work.
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“That's what we expect when you give a player an opportunity, isn't it?” Pochettino said of Wright taking his opportunity. “I think it's good news to have players who can compete for a place at the World Cup. I think any time we have the opportunity to provide a player – maybe they didn't play us too much last year – I think that's an important thing. It means saying, “I’m here and I want to play. I want to be part of this team.” [a] performance like this, Haji can certainly be close to a player who performed like this. Participation is possible.”
The recent contributions of Balogun and Wright are providing a real boost to the USMNT's overall attacking efforts, which have yet to fully materialize in the midst of Pochettino's team's ongoing rebuild. Against Ecuador and in September Victory over Japan with a score of 2:0.The USA created promising opportunities but at times failed to capitalize on them, while against Australia their meaningful opportunities were few and far between as they faced another ultra-defensive opponent. Balogun and Wright have found ways to overcome these problems, even if there is room for improvement, while Malik Tillman's assists for Balogun's goal against Ecuador and Roldan's pair for Wright against Australia signal that some things are indeed working. The group also managed to score goals in October without Pulisic on the pitch except for the 30-minute spell he played on Tuesday, another sign that things may be heading in the right direction.
On Tuesday, Roldan became another big winner, charting an unlikely return to the USMNT's favor. Like Wright, he was a member of the U.S. squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, but in the years since, the 30-year-old's profile on the team had dimmed until a surprise late call-up for September friendlies against South Korea and South Korea Japan. He returned to action for his second consecutive cap and has now played a major role in the USMNT's last two victories, helped by the fact that Pochettino's new tactical approach of playing at the back with three centre-backs is exactly how Roldan is used to playing on the pitch. Seattle Sounders.
“That's what we need and then we need players with confidence, with some faith, with a little [of] arrogance, a little naughty, competitive, and then maybe Cristian Roldan [an] For example,” Pochettino said. “If you want to create the perfect player, he has a little bit of everything.”
While Wright epitomizes Pochettino's competitive drive, Roldan is the perfect example of his open-door policy, whereby the head coach viewed expanding his squad as a top priority. The compliment from Pochettino did not go unnoticed by the midfielder, as did his return to the national team.
“I feel like I'm playing the best of my career,” Roldan said. “Unfortunately, this is at 30 years old. I wish he was a little younger, but it's great that I'm number one, they see me, I participate in the training camp and now I feel part of the team… I've never had the opportunity to play against the best in the world. I didn't play at the World Cup in '22. I didn't play in some big games for the national team. Europe, played in these [UEFA] Champions League games like this [the Club World Cup] It was a great moment for me to understand where I am, to understand that I can compete with the best, to understand that I am playing at a high level, and it gave me a lot of confidence throughout the second game. [half] season.”
Wright and Roldan provided the USMNT with plenty of upside against Australia, almost making up for the mistakes the home defense made at various points in the game. The whole group, this time consisting of the goalkeeper. Matt Freesecentral defenders Chris Richards, Miles Robinson And Mark McKenzie and midfielder James Sands in front of them – were caught while watching the ball in Jordan Bos' goal for Australia, and were caught sleeping early in the second half. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the USMNT does a better job of Tyler Adams on the field, even if that's bad news for Sands, although what may be less encouraging is the fact that the US's best defensive record to date has come when Tim Rome is also on the field.
However, expect mixed results from the series of auditions, regardless of the approaching timing of the World Cup. Pochettino has made it clear that the qualifiers are not over yet, with November friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay marking the next stage of a months-long journey to determine his World Cup squad, with the head coach reiterating why his focus on experimentation is key to making tough decisions next summer.
“I think both games [in October offered] opportunity to see different combinations [of] The players play together,” Pochettino said. “Today I think some players have never played together. This is priceless for us. I think this is important. We are still [have] There is still a lot of time before the World Cup, and I think we can do it. We can evaluate and it's open… To be sure what type of profile, characteristics you need, because not only [do] you need good players, but you also need good teammates, good people, people who can realize the interests of our team. [above] your own interests, and it is important to see all the details, the situations when you play well, when you play not so well. We take these things into account.”
Players react accordingly.
“I think I need to keep performing,” Wright said. “I think if I just switched off now the chances would probably be less, but I'm glad it happened and I'm trying to build on it.”
