USMNT: Mauricio Pochettino urges patience after Mexico defeat

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino warned against making harsh judgments about the United States men's national team (USMNT) after Tuesday's 2-0 loss to Mexico in Guadalajara, reiterating his just-started process with the federation.

“Overall I think Mexico were a little better than us and absolutely deserved to win,” Pochettino said in a post-match press conference. “But for us it is a process that we started ten days ago and today was a great opportunity for our player to visit a very difficult venue. I think only we can improve and learn from this experience.”

US Soccer announced Pochettino's arrival in September, just weeks before the October international window. He led the USMNT for the first time on Oct. 12 in a 2-0 win over Panama in Austin before traveling to Mexico to play Panama El Tricolor.

He trained the entire October squad for just a few days before Marlon Fossey, Zack Steffen, Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi left camp due to injury, while Christian Pulisic returned to AC Milan to avoid work overload.

Pochettino admitted he was disappointed at not having the full squad available for the game against Mexico, despite having the opportunity to learn from the challenges of playing in Guadalajara.

“We're all disappointed because I think we didn't have all the players we wanted at the start,” he said. “We lost a few players for various reasons and came up a little short here.”

“I would like to thank the players (who were here) because they were great, professional and their behavior was great. And that's all. Of course it’s just a game we lose in Mexico.”

“We wanted to win. I think we have to be positive about this type of game. We need to play more games like this to improve our knowledge.”

Pochettino insists he needs more time to evaluate and study the players before drawing any conclusions.

“Give us time, let's evaluate all the players, they have, they know them, and from there I will give you a better opinion on it, which is much more fundamental than what I see.”

The USMNT will now focus on the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series against Jamaica in the November international window.