Is Pochettino delivering hope - or panic - to US after Gold Cup loss

It proved one game too far for Mauricio Pochettino's United States as defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final ended their hopes of lifting the trophy in their own country.

Pochettino's start to life as head coach has been unconvincing but a promising run in this summer's Gold Cup had started to provide new hope.

A win against Mexico in Sunday's final would not only have delivered a trophy but also started the process of instilling some much-needed belief. It was not to be as Mexico came from behind to win 2-1.

The defeat though will leave supporters questioning again whether things are moving in the right direction before a World Cup on home soil next summer.

Pochettino, who was furious after Guatemalan referee Mario Escobar Toca turned down a penalty appeal for handball, believed the majority of the 70,000 crowd at the NGR Stadium in Houston being Mexican went against his side.

He said: "Mexico is a great team, they have great players and a good coaching staff, but I want to emphasize how important the fans are in a soccer match.

"When you have their support, you regenerate the player's energy on the field, and when you don't, you drain their energy and it's hard.

"If we had the majority supporting us today, it would have been different, but that's what we're dealing with. The truth was that if that happened in the opposite box, for sure, it's [given as a] penalty.

"This Gold Cup though allowed us to have the players together for 40 days to establish the principles of what we want, and that has been very helpful. It was important to see players crying after losing; it makes me happy because that's how this sport should feel."

Mixed results across the Argentine's first 16 matches have shown a worrying inconsistency and during this time, they have lost all five matches against a team in the top 30 of Fifa's rankings.

By now, the US should have some clarity in their preparations for the 2026 tournament, but there remains an unfinished, rocky feel to the foundations they have been laying since Pochettino took over in September 2024.

Questions were being asked of the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris St-Germain boss following consecutive defeats by Panama and Canada in the Nations League finals, and Turkey and Switzerland in Gold Cup warm-up games.

There has been a lack of consistency in both personnel and results. The squad appears unresolved, with the group of players called up differing for each camp, something that has mostly been beyond Pochettino's control.

Fifty-five players have made appearances for the USA under the Argentine since he was appointed 10 months ago, making it difficult to build momentum and togetherness.

The Gold Cup is Concacaf's Euros and Copa America equivalent.

Pochettino's side have experienced a promising campaign despite missing some key players. Their presence in the final reflected that progress.

It has been a bonding experience for the players involved, but it's likely the XI that starts their first World Cup game in Inglewood next June will look significantly different.

Due to a combination of injury, the Club World Cup and fatigue, this current squad is without familiar names such as Fulham's Antonee Robinson, Juventus pair Weston McKennie and Timothy Weah, AC Milan duo Yunus Musah and Christian Pulisic and Monaco striker Folarin Balogun.

Star man Pulisic's decision to rest this summer rather than take part in the Gold Cup was particularly controversial given the context of building for next year's home World Cup.

The players Pochettino has been able to call upon have developed into a useful unit as the tournament has progressed and it's the most together and determined a US group has looked since he took over.

He might wish this togetherness could have been created with his first-choice group but, on the other hand, it has given him a good chance to test fringe players in a competitive, high-pressure environment with a trophy on the line.

Some of this contingent have made a good case for inclusion in next summer's 26-man squad.

Diego Luna has long been touted as a player with the potential to offer the United States something they've been missing. The 21-year-old energetic playmaker, who plays his club football for Real Salt Lake in MLS, has come into his own in the Gold Cup as one of this team's star players.

In goal, Matt Freese, of Manchester City's US relative New York City, has been given the nod ahead of Nottingham Forest's Matt Turner all tournament and, bar one mistake against Haiti, has pushed for inclusion at the World Cup.

Freese's penalty shootout heroics in the quarter-final against Costa Rica gave him a tournament highlight, doing his chances of a 2026 call-up no harm at all.

Elsewhere, midfielder Jack McGlynn, who was also eligible to represent the Republic of Ireland, has showcased his talent on the international stage, Bayer Leverkusen-linked Malik Tillman has impressed in a role just off the striker, and Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards has strengthened his claim for a starting centre-back role.

This Gold Cup has been a useful experience and a productive exercise - but there's an argument it needed to be more.

Sooner rather than later, Pochettino needs to turn this work in progress into a fully prepared first-choice team.

If the Club World Cup is a World Cup warm-up for the US in an organisational sense, the Gold Cup is a warm-up for what they will look like as a host nation in terms of how its team plays and how it is supported.

Research from renowned US outlet Soccer America revealed that group-stage attendances have dropped compared to recent editions but, though disappointing, this isn't necessarily a sign of things to come at the World Cup.

The clash with the Club World Cup, the absence of familiar stars and ticket pricing issues across the game will have affected turnout but the semi-final in St Louis against Guatemala and the final in Houston were sold out.

Although the majority of Monday's crowd was made up of Mexican fans.

The United States doing well and encouraging sports fans to connect with its men's team during 2026 feels more important for US soccer than merely hosting the World Cup.

The Gold Cup has been something of a tonic for Pochettino and the USMNT but, with defeat, it is easy to see the pre-World Cup panic returning.