Three keys for USMNT vs. Japan: Mauricio Pochettino's side target improvement with clock ticking for World Cup
CBSN
The USMNT are coming off a 2-0 loss to South Korea, leaving Pochettino with just one win in seven games against opponents in FIFA's top 30
U.S. men's national team head coach Maurico Pochettino may have been right to say the performances will be more important than the results in this month's friendlies, but Saturday's 2-0 loss to South Korea demonstrated genuine room for improvement in both categories – and especially the former.
Pochettino's experimental lineup, which featured a mix of mainstays and newcomers, became the latest bunch to lack a sense of cohesion, which seemed like the bedrock of a haphazard performance. Defensive errors proved costly for the USMNT, who conceded twice in the first half and paved the way for a perfectly-managed game from South Korea. The visitors may have pumped the breaks and allowed the U.S. to outshoot them 17 to five, the hosts outdoing them 2.27 to 0.74 in expected goals, but it was too little too late for Pochettino's side. He now has just one win in his last seven matches against opponents in FIFA's top 30, while the USMNT have been outscored 11 to two in first halves against foes in the top 25.
