A run of four straight losses, including a 4-0 hammering from Switzerland on Wednesday, has left Mauricio Pochettino and his US team feeling the wrath of critics a year out from the 2026 FIFA World Cup they are to cohost.
The US head into their opening game of the CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago on Sunday having lost on home soil to Panama and Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League in March before friendly losses to Turkey and the debacle against the Swiss.
“I think it is the most embarrassed I have been for the US national team in a long time,” said Kasey Keller, who played in goal for the US 102 times between 1990 and 2007.
Photo: Reuters
While there were plenty of US fans venting similar feelings on social media after the loss, what would perhaps be more concerning for the US Soccer Federation is supporters voting with their feet and not attending games.
There were thousands of empty seats in Nashville for the Switzerland defeat after poor turnouts for March’s games in Los Angeles.
“There’s just a sense of apathy around the United States men’s program and I don’t think that’s a hot take,” former striker Taylor Twellman told NBC Sports.
Alexi Lalas, a star of the US team the last time they hosted a World Cup in 1994, has built a career in “hot takes” for Fox Sports, but even he was struggling to fire himself up for a Star Spangled rant after the latest disappointment.
“I’m having a hard time even conjuring up that and that makes me a little sad. In the past when I was angry at what was going on, I felt compelled to express it and now they are not even worth that, not worth me expressing how disappointing this is right now,” he said on his podcast State of the Union.
Pochettino has been forced to field a largely second-string squad in this month’s games with the likes of Tim Weah and Weston McKennie on FIFA Club World Cup duty with Juventus, while captain and talisman Christian Pulisic has opted to take some rest along with some other members of the first-choice squad.
That latter decision prompted fierce criticism from some ex-players, including Landon Donovan, the country’s all-time joint top scorer who during commentary of Portugal’s win in the UEFA Nations League hit out at the absentees.
Cristiano Ronaldo is “40 years old. He’s played a long-ass season. He’s tired. He’s out there grinding. Hurt himself in the process, and I can’t help but think about some of our guys on vacation, not wanting to play in the Gold Cup. It’s pissing me off,” he said.
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