Mile High Magic Extends USMNT’s Unbeaten Run Against World Cup-Qualified Opponents
The U.S. Men’s National Team earned a 2-1 come-from-behind win over Australia on Tuesday night at DICK’S Sporting Goods Park
COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – If there’s ever been evidence that the U.S. Men’s National Team is growing under head coach Mauricio Pochettino, it might be best encapsulated by the team’s last three matches.
The team is riding a three-match unbeaten streak, dating back to September. The trio of games began when the U.S. put together a resounding 2-0 win over Japan on Sept. 9 led by a technically superb volley from Alex Zendejas and a skillful second-half finish from Folarin Balogun.
The second was the first match of the October window. When facing a surging Ecuador side that had only given up one goal in its 10 previous matches, the U.S. didn’t flinch. The Americans rallied after conceding an early goal and equalized against a very strong defensive side to draw the match in Austin, Texas.
Finally, the third was the team’s latest performance against Australia on Tuesday night. Haji Wright and Cristian Roldan linked up twice to steer a massive come-from-behind win in Commerce City, Colorado and record the first comeback win in Pochettino’s tenure with the USA.
“Any time you can win against these kinds of opponents, it’s a big confidence boost,” said James Sands, who started alongside Roldan in the central midfield Tuesday night.
In all three matches, the United States showed flashes of goal-scoring and a fighting mentality. Twice, the Americans trailed – twice they fought back. And in each match, Pochettino found positives to take away.
One of those major takeaways was the quality of the competition.
All three opponents the United States has faced during this unbeaten run are teams that have already secured qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. These nations are among the top in their confederations. Ecuador finished second in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying, just after 2022 champion Argentina. Japan was the first team outside of the host nations to qualify for the 2026 tournament. Australia is a top-ranked squad in the AFC.
Two of these teams, Ecuador and Australia, were riding double-digit unbeaten streaks heading into their matchups with the U.S.
Given these strong resumes, the U.S. has approached these matches seriously. While the matchups are labeled as international friendlies, the U.S. has adopted a competitive mindset with only so many windows together before next summer's tournament — a message that has come from Pochettino and his coaching staff.
“It’s important to size ourselves up against these nations because we understand that we’re going to be competing against these guys at the World Cup,” Roldan said. “It’s really important these last two windows, and hopefully our next window, we can show a little progress and confidence after some of these good performances.”
Pochettino has been reiterating the importance of progress this year in the lead-up to the World Cup. He’s still learning things about his team – following both matches in the October window, the manager was positive but expressed that there are details the team needs to iron out. He’s still putting different combinations of players on the pitch. For example, against Australia he made six changes to the starting lineup from the Ecuador match. Pochettino is also observing players in different situations and seeing which connections are fruitful – like Wright and Roldan on Tuesday night.
“It does wonders,” Wright said of the confidence this win gives them. “We’re playing against quality opposition now, so we’re gearing up for the final test before the World Cup starts, and we’re happy with a win today.”
The U.S. has been progressing in this build-up which is starting to dwindle as the World Cup draws nearer. Even going back to earlier this summer with the USMNT’s Concacaf Gold Cup run, which featured 14 players on this October roster, progress was made. Under Pochettino, the team gave up just one goal in the group stage and advanced all the way to the final. Players emerged in that tournament like Matt Freese, who made his debut this summer and has gone on to become a valued piece in the goalkeeping room. The 24-year-old goalkeeper has started 10 straight matches for the USMNT, including Tuesday's win.
“It’s important to start building confidence, but it’s also very important to continue to improve and trust in the process,” Freese said. “As each result comes, we want to be putting together results, but we also want to be putting together performances. Over the long run, that leads to more successes. As we lead into the World Cup next summer, these friendlies are not so friendly. It becomes about getting a result and showing that next summer when the whistle blows, we’re there to get a win.”
The October window closed on a high note for the group, and November is just around the corner. The United States will have a chance to extend its current unbeaten run against two more World Cup-bound nations: Paraguay and Uruguay.
The goal for that window, as center back Chris Richards put it, is to "keep stacking them up."
“It gives us confidence knowing that we are not even close to being 100 percent,” Richards said. “That’s probably the biggest takeaway from these two games we’ve had is that we still have so much more to grow and so much more potential – it’s kind of untapped right now. It’s a process. It’s a journey. I know by the World Cup next summer, we’ll be ready for it.”