TAMPA, Fla. – The U.S. Men’s National Team just played its last match of the calendar year, which means players won’t lace up their boots again for the national team until March, but the next time the men in red, white and blue take the pitch, it will be a World Cup year.
And the USMNT players are already looking forward to it.
The team concluded its 2025 campaign on a soaring note, stunning CONMEBOL heavyweight Uruguay 5-1 in Tampa, Florida. It was a match that saw the U.S. exercise complete control against a team ranked 15th in the world and give Pochettino a signature win against his soccer hero, Uruguay manager Marcelo Biela.
“This type of victory and the result is important for our fans to push them to really believe in the team,” Pochettino said.
The win is the third straight for the U.S. and follows the opening of the window where the U.S. defeated another South American, World Cup-bound opponent, Paraguay. That match played on Nov. 15 at Subaru Park in Chester, Pennsylvania felt very similar with the U.S. showing control and calm against a quality opponent.
“It’ll give us a lot of confidence,” fullback Alex Freeman said. “We had two tough opponents. Us being aggressive and being able to be our best self, I feel like we did that as well.”
The win against La Celeste on Nov. 18 extends a run of strong performances for the U.S. The group is now unbeaten in five consecutive matches, the beginning of which dates back to September. All five of the teams they’ve matched up against during that run – Japan, Ecuador, Australia, Paraguay and Uruguay – are ranked in the top 40 in FIFA and have secured spots in the FIFA 2026 World Cup. The last time the USMNT went unbeaten in five straight matches versus top-40 ranked opponents was in 2013.
Win No. 5 in that stretch was arguably the most commanding, showing a trajectory of growth and increasing confidence. The U.S. scored two goals in the opening 20 minutes of action, four in the first 45 and ended the night with four different goal scorers including Freeman, midfielders Sebastian Berhalter, Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann.
“Incredible win,” said Berhalter, who also assisted one of Freeman’s goals. “To win in that fashion and in front of the fans, there’s no better feeling.”
“The guys had a blast,” Luna added. “With the hard work and the intensity we brought, it leads us to have fun in performances like this.”
Against Uruguay, Pochettino made nine changes from the starting lineup against Paraguay three days ago. Even two players away from a completely different starting XI, the U.S. was dominant. The ability to establish continuity and deliver a strong performance with that many changes speaks to the program’s depth and team-oriented mindset.
“We’ve always felt confident, but performances like tonight and our last match against Paraguay, it shows the direction we’re going and the way the team is growing,” center back Mark McKenzie said. “It’s a day-by-day, camp by camp thing, but ultimately we’re building something special.”
The U.S. has historically played Uruguay to close results. Before the Nov. 18 matchup, every meeting between the two sides within the last 100 years had been decided by one goal or a draw. The 5-1 scoreline broke that trend, tying the United States’ largest margin of victory versus a South American opponent and the largest margin of victory against an opponent ranked in FIFA’s top 15.
As it extends its stream, the U.S. is confident but not satisfied. There's still work to be done in the seven months until the World Cup kicks off June 11, 2026. Pochettino said in his post-match press conference that the team doesn’t only need to improve – it wants to improve. He described his team as very ambitious; they want to win and challenge every team they face.
“You can see the competitiveness today – or against Paraguay, Ecuador and Australia,” Pochettino said. “Of course, the World Cup is going to be different, but I think we need to prepare ourselves to be there and to really believe in our chance.”