Forget the World Cup, USMNT doesn't look ready for the Gold Cup

As the United States men's nationalist squad trudged disconnected the tract astatine half-time, boos rang retired astatine Geodis Park successful Nashville, Tennessee. And each azygous past 1 of them was deserved.

The U.S. was already down 4-0 to Switzerland, and went connected to suffer by that aforesaid score. The archetypal fractional looked a scrimmage betwixt the varsity and the inferior varsity; young players being thrown into the lion's den and getting mauled. Already utilizing a roster bereft of implicit a twelve experienced players, USMNT caput manager Mauricio Pochettino is operating with a greenish roster. But helium wanted to spot what they had, truthful helium made 9 changes to the squad that mislaid to Turkey 2-1 past Saturday. Five of those changes saw players with less than 5 caps astatine the commencement of this campy participate the line-up.

The determination proved fatal. the visitors broke connected apical successful the 13th infinitesimal connected a extremity by Dan Ndoye and didn't instrumentality their ft disconnected the state for the remainder of the fractional with strikes from Michel Aebischer (23rd minute), Breel Embolo (32nd minute) and Johan Manzambi (35th minute). The U.S. defence was chopped to pieces with ease.

A flurry of substitutions astatine half-time, 5 successful all, arsenic good arsenic a determination to 3 halfway backs, helped staunch the bleeding. Pochettino said connected TNT's broadcast that the changes were planned, but what prime did helium have? Regardless, it provided nary consolation astatine each fixed what transpired successful the archetypal half.

Afterwards, Pochettino admitted that his tendency to get everyone playing clip implicit the past 2 matches earlier the Gold Cup was a measurement excessively far.

"That was my decision, and it was my fault," Pochettino said successful his post-game property conference. "The archetypal half, each the critics should be, oregon could beryllium for maine due to the fact that I deliberation that was my decision. But astatine the aforesaid time, it was the bully volition to supply each the players the anticipation to play and effort to vie for a spot the World Cup."

How atrocious was this performance? In presumption of losing streaks and goals conceded, it makes for grim reading. Per ESPN Stats and Information, the U.S. conceded 4 goals successful the archetypal 40 minutes of a lucifer for the archetypal clip since Nov. 9, 1980 successful Mexico. It was the archetypal clip this had ever happened astatine home. The past clip the U.S. mislaid this galore matches successful a enactment came successful 2007 during a five-game agelong nether Bob Bradley. Those included 3 consecutive losses astatine the 2007 Copa America successful Venezuela with a little than afloat spot roster, arsenic good arsenic affable defeats to Sweden and Brazil. The USMNT hadn't mislaid 4 consecutive games astatine location since 1988 erstwhile it mislaid 2 games each to Chile and Ecuador. We're talking astir a clip adjacent the extremity of U.S. soccer's acheronian ages.

Among the head-shaking developments -- and determination were a batch of them -- was that what Switzerland was doing offensively wasn't each that complicated. Simple diagonal passes retired of the backmost wholly flummoxed the U.S. defense. Playing retired of the backmost seemed beyond what the U.S. was susceptible of. And past determination were the basal errors. Failing to way runners. A deficiency of unit connected the shot successful midfield. The U.S. property looked wholly uncoordinated. The database goes on.

Was the younker of the starting a lineup a factor? You bet. But it wasn't conscionable the younker that was a problem. It was the deficiency of competitiveness. Pochettino praised his squad for that facet pursuing the Turkey crippled past Saturday. Against Switzerland it was mostly absent. Combine that with the gulf successful prime betwixt the 2 sides and you get a effect similar Tuesday's.

The astir sobering realization of each is that the USMNT's depth, astatine slightest the benignant that tin assistance them successful adjacent year's World Cup, is threadbare. Outside backs Nathan Harriel and Max Arfsten looked wholly overmatched. The aforesaid went for midfielders Sebastian Berhalter and Quinn Sullivan. It was the latter's giveaway that led to Switzerland's 4th by Manzambi.

The lone sliver of anticipation was the play of the substitutes, led by Diego Luna and Tim Ream, but it would beryllium foolish to work excessively overmuch into what was fundamentally 45 minutes of garbage time. The thought that this starting line-up volition ne'er spot the tract unneurotic again provides immoderate encouragement. There besides seems to beryllium a wide demarcation enactment betwixt the players that tin lend successful the Gold Cup, and those who can't. That information is valuable, nary substance however painfully it was acquired.

Afterwards, Ream did what helium could to support a semblance of composure implicit the result.

"I deliberation there's immoderate idiosyncratic errors that we make, and we get punished for them astatine this level, and you spot it each astir the world," helium said during TNT's postgame coverage.

"And that's a learning process for a batch of guys who are earning very, precise fewer caps, precise archetypal caps. And again, it's a learning experience. We person to beryllium calm; we person to support our caput connected right, analyse what the archetypal fractional especially, and adjacent things successful the 2nd fractional that we tin bash better. And if we bash that, we volition beryllium each right."

And what of the upcoming Gold Cup? Expectations were already heading successful a downward trajectory successful presumption of however acold the U.S. tin marque it successful the tournament. At this stage, it wouldn't beryllium a astonishment to spot the U.S. eliminated earlier the final.

Avoiding that result volition necessitate Pochettino tilting his line-up towards much acquisition alternatively than going hell-bent connected youth. He'll besides beryllium hoping that midfielder Tyler Adams, who sat retired the crippled with a ft injury, manages to heal up and enactment that way. His seasoned beingness successful the halfway of midfield volition bash plentifulness to assistance immoderate of the younger players enactment done pugnacious spots.

But the U.S. enters the Gold Cup with tons of questions astir its quality, its mettle, and its willingness to accommodate to situations. There are questions astir the manager too. Right now, nary of them tin beryllium answered positively. The adjacent 4 weeks volition spot if this mentation of the USMNT tin alteration that.