Ahead of the USA’s final international of 2025 a story circulated in the media about a young Mauricio Pochettino being recruited by Uruguay’s current manager Marcelo Bielsa to play for him at Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. Pochettino acknowledged their close relationship by referring to Bielsa as his “football father” and showed his mentor a great deal of respect.
Once the USA’s match against Uruguay kicked off, that relationship was cast aside for a couple of hours. Pochettino’s current team, missing a number of well known players, proceeded to give a lesson to their supposedly superior guests. Having preached team unity, proper attitude, hunger, and drive to his players during the three autumn international windows, he watched his team deliver a performance with all of those characteristics.
Pochettino made nine changes to the starting lineup from the team that battled Paraguay three days previously. The 2-1 win over Paraguay went down very well among the fans and observers. That included the fracas near the end that brought both benches together. The players had each other’s backs when push came to shove. When the USA stormed out to a 4-0 lead over Uruguay during the first 42 minutes in Tampa, what looked like a decent camp for the USA turned into the perfect finale for what started out as a difficult year.
Uruguay had also made a number of changes to a team that drew 0-0 with Mexico. That drab affair gave no indication of what was coming against the US. Two goals in four minutes put the visitors in a hole they could not escape. Coventry City striker Haji Wright was felled just outside the Uruguayan penalty area after 17 minutes. Sebastien Berhalter lined up to take the free kick and played the ball short to Sergino Dest. Dest teed it up and Berhalter whipped a curling shot past Christopher Fiermarin and into the side-netting.
The shock of that opener had barely worn off when Alex Freeman doubled the lead from a Berhalter corner. The son of the former US national team boss has now outscored his father in international play. Berhalter wasn’t the only son to surpass his father during this camp. Freeman’s father, NFL Hall of Famer Antonio Freeman never won a game in Tampa during his illustrious career. The MLS Young Player of the Year emphatically surpassed his father by adding a second goal. Shortly thereafter, Tim Tillman, younger brother of fellow US international Malik, delivered a crunching tackle to turn the ball over. Auston Trusty slipped a pass through to the charging Freeman, who danced through three defenders and finished like a striker to make it 3-0 after 31 minutes.
Fiermarin looked shellshocked and the rest of his team dazed. The onslaught continued. Even though Uruguay had a few half chances and one thunderous shot off the crossbar, it was clear that it would not be their night. Diego Luna put the Americans into overdrive when he finished off a stylish move that started with Trusty picking out and overlapping run from John Tolkin. Tolkin dragged his pass back towards the penalty spot for Luna to pass the ball into the goal. That was game over after 42 minutes.
Uruguay did score a spectacular consolation goal just before halftime when Giorgian de Arrascaeta rose up to hit a bicycle kick past Matt Freese. Pochettino left the field at halftime raging about his team losing concentration. He has demanded better from his players and they know it. They returned for the second half and took the pace out of the game, especially after Uruguay captain Rodrigo Betancur received two yellow cards in fifteen minutes. The US capped the scoring against ten men when Gio Reyna, who now also has more international goals than his dad, picked out Tanner Tessman with a lovely cross that the Olympique Lyon midfielder headed into the net.
Four goal wins don’t happen often at the higher levels of international football. The US hasn’t beaten a South American team by four goals since a game against Bolivia in 2016. It is their third victory in ten attempts against Uruguay and first win over the two-time World Cup winners since 2002. Looking back at the fall friendly games, the USA finished with four wins, one loss, and a draw against six teams who have qualified for the World Cup. Their performances improved in each game. The loss came in the first match of the fall against Japan. These last two wins against respected South American nations will grab some headlines.
Marcelo Bielsa did not enjoy the match against his protégé. In his post match comments, he said he was ashamed of the performance and the result. Many pundits reminded American audiences about his disparaging remarks on Major League Soccer. Five current and four former MLS players started the game for the USA and put Uruguay to the sword.
The next major event for the US national team will be the World Cup draw on December 5 in Washington DC. The US already knows they will be in Pot 1 and will play their first and third group matches in Los Angeles with the second game in Seattle. Their opponents will become known in less than two weeks, unless they draw a team still involved in either the European or Intercontinental Playoffs. The vibe has turned since the Nations League debacle in March and the internal issues during the Gold Cup in June. Mauricio Pochettino has his team playing some inspired ball and the players competing for roster spots. That should bring out the best in them.
