In another World Cup timeline, the USMNT’s final group stage match against Turkiye could have been stressful. But the sequencing of matches is key in the group stages, with the U.S. going through on top of the table after two decisive victories and Turkiye in last place with zero points and no goals. All this - the energy, the excitement, the hope that Mauricio Pochettino’s side has stirred over the past two weeks - could have been different had the USMNT played Turkiye in the opener. But now, this third match is anticlimactic. Among the several new emotions we’ve felt under Pochettino’s run is another new one of relaxation.

The rubber match also lets Pochettino rest the starters and gives the bench an opportunity to add to the story of the connection. The continuity in energy, directness, and pressing in the second team is another proof of concept of a cohesion and togetherness. The style remains no matter who plays.

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In a small contrast with the first team’s defining 4-2-3-1 formation, the reserves line up in a 4-3-3 formation. The USMNT dump the ball deep in Turkiye’s half off the opening kickoff to maintain continuity with the first two matches, although this time, the ball stays in play off the corner flag. It is a metaphor for the lineup, of being similar but a twist. The reserve side’s commitment to pressure remains the same as the first team. Gio Reyna gets off an early shot and pumps up the crowd. The entire roster is committed.

On cue, the U.S. gets its opener in the third minute from Auston Trusty, who celebrates with the team. Tactically, we’re seeing the synergy within the team with the fast starts. Energetically, we’re seeing unity regardless of who is on the field. 

Now is the time to point out that the reserve players aren’t just running or working hard. Trusty plays at Celtic. Reyna is at Borussia Monchengladbach. Starter or not, the roster is filled with players in Europe. 

As a reality check, Turkiye answer with a goal from Arda Guler. This quality was the fear of being drawn with Vincenzo Montella’s side in the first place. But now, the matchup is the best of both worlds for the U.S. because they can get competition experience against high-level individual players but without the pressure of results.

Pochettino’s attacking patterns remain instilled within the second team as his side continue to bait their opponents high and wide to open up a direct ball in behind. While the U.S. get a corner kick goal called back for offside, we should note that they are threatening from free kicks. 

And as if to reinforce their underachievement, Turkiye take the lead. With how easily the U.S. backline was taken apart, doubts may begin to creep that their exciting start came against Paraguay and Australia. Real Madrid’s Guler and Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz are a different challenge entirely. 

The USMNT go into halftime trailing for the first time in the tournament. In the past, supporters may have been frustrated while staring down another disappointing result. But this is the new Pochettino era, and this is just the reserve side.

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It was reported that Pochettino was offered a four-year contract extension last week that would take the Argentine manager through the next World Cup cycle. We’ve come a long way from the rumors before the tournament that he was talking to AC Milan. Sentiment can turn in just two matches. 

There was an assumption that Pochettino would leave for a club opportunity after his success on the world’s biggest stage, that he had rehabilitated his reputation and would go back to the day-to-day rhythm of a domestic side. But seeing his ideas play out over the past two weeks added a different value proposition. We’re experiencing first-hand his impact in shifting how a country perceives its national team in real time.  

It took Pochettino 18 months to do the hard work of changing his side’s complacent mindset from the foundation on up. Following the U.S. win over Australia, he said that his most important legacy was the “connection between the national team and the fans.” With another four years, Pochettino could further codify and embed his ideas of competition and universal energy within U.S. soccer culture itself.

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As the second half begins with no changes, the cutbacks that were so successful over the first two matches are getting easily cleared by Turkiye’s defense. Christian Pulisic, Sergino Dest, and Weston McKennie would set up their attacking sequences with interplay and movement as a sleight of hand before finding the space in behind. The reserve side are hitting crosses as a last gasp attempt after running out of imagination. 

In continuing to emphasize set pieces, Sebastian Berhalter ties the game by winning a ball off a throw-in clearance. It wasn’t so much off a routine as it was throwing the ball into a lump of bodies, yet Berhalter’s positioning outside of the box to win any second balls was intentional and structural.

Pulisic subs into the match for the final 30 minutes. He immediately gets in behind Turkiye’s backline with off-ball movement. He then hits a post. In a few minutes, Pulisic shows why he is the x-factor that elevates the side into more than a sleeper by turbocharging the team’s natural direct tendencies through his off-ball movement while adding his ability to take defenders on 1 v. 1.

Turkiye score the match winner in the 98th minute off a scramble in front of goal. What could have been a devastating moment is now a mere setback in the larger picture. Such is life under Pochettino. 

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Taking in the differences between this match and the opening two victories clarifies what exactly makes Pochettino’s first team so dynamic. Without his connection to the wing, McKennie had to stay central against Turkiye, limiting his movement out wide. Centerbacks Tim Ream and Chris Richards can calm a match with their accurate passing. Malik Tillman adds the surprising runs down the middle. Sergino Dest pushes opponents back with his footwork. All this creates space for the U.S. to punish opposition backlines by getting in behind for cutbacks.

Yet this loss could be a positive in terms of bringing expectations back down to earth, a reminder that not every match is filled with goals, running, and elation.

As USMNT prepare for the round of 32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina, a sense of realism enters the picture. The concepts of disappointment and devastation exist for the first time all tournament. As with every endless summer, the fleeting moments come to an end and we all go back to our lives at some point. The fairy tale is over. There can be heartbreak now.