Three takeaways from USMNT's defeat at Mexico

El gigante no ha muerto.

“The giant is not dead.” It’s been a recurring phrase among Mexico supporters over the past 30 years or so, as the US men’s national team slowly but surely hauled themselves to respectability after decades of being a doormat for El Tri, then eventually gained the ascendancy on their southern neighbors.

And it’s worth remembering in the wake of Mexico’s dominant 2-0 friendly win over the Yanks at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara on Tuesday night, El Tri’s first defeat of the USMNT since 2019 and the first reality check of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure.

“It wasn't a great performance,” said the new US head coach afterwards, and that was putting it mildly.

Here are a few observations from Mexico’s emphatic reminder that, despite their sustained period in the doldrums of late, they can still throw some weight around.

Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna are hurt and didn’t figure into this month’s roster. Christian Pulisic, Wes McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Zack Steffen and Marlon Fossey were sent back to their clubs after Saturday’s win over Panama to manage minutes and injury concerns.

Some would argue that adds up to the lion’s share of a first-choice USMNT starting XI unavailable for this first friendly visit to Mexico in 14 years, which posed both a challenge and opportunity for those who did make the trip. And the lion’s share of those who got the chance to play simply didn’t make the most of it.

The Yanks were outshot 12-0 in the first half, and finished the night with a grand total of one shot on target, a sharp drive from substitute and former FC Cincinnati star Brandon Vazquez that drew a save from Luis Malagon in the game’s closing stages. They produced a paltry 0.27 expected goals compared to Mexico’s 0.98. The whole team struggled with organization and composure, with the midfield looking particularly overwhelmed as El Tri’s confidence swelled.

It gave Pochettino a useful, if sobering, snapshot of the depth of his player pool, and provided a learning experience for those who took part (more on that later).

“You have to have depth if you want to win a World Cup, and that’s ultimately what this team wants to do,” USMNT legend DaMarcus Beasley said on the TNT postgame show. “It has to be where you give these guys that don’t get a lot of minutes with the US team opportunities to play. And what better opportunity to have than play in Mexico against a tough opponent… it just fell a little bit flat today."

As one-sided as this one wound up being, it’s worth wondering how things might have gone had the Yanks not conceded the opening goal in the fashion they did. As gorgeously as Raúl Jiménez struck his free-kick golazo past Matt Turner, that set piece came about via a careless turnover on a long ball out of the back, followed by an unnecessary foul on Roberto Alvarado in a dangerous area just outside the US penalty box.

“A situation that we need to manage better,” said Pochettino. And the visitors did not respond well to the adversity that posed.

“I think we started the game well,” said the USMNT boss. “After we concede the goal after 22 minutes, I think the impact was massive for us, and of course, they start maybe to win the duels and to be a little bit better, a little bit more aggressive than us, until 60 minutes, and after that, we change, we do some movement on the pitch and after we take the control again and I think it was even, the game.

“But overall I think Mexico was a little bit better than us and fully deserved the victory.”

In Jiménez, El Tri have perhaps the region’s hottest striker, a beloved talent fashioning a remarkable redemption story after his career was nearly ended by serious injury problems, and he inspired his side in Guadalajara, lifting the group with his quality and work rate. The USMNT needed to respond to that spiking swagger with some intestinal fortitude of their own.

Vazquez came to play, showing urgency and incision in his half-hour on the pitch. Columbus Crew alum Aidan Morris battled gamely all evening, covering ground to fight the wars in the center of the park. FC Dallas product Alejandro Zendejas brought some much-needed fire off the bench, completing 13/16 passes, creating one chance and squaring up to Jesús Angulo after the two clashed in the 74th minute. But there just wasn’t enough of that tenacity on hand given the circumstances.

Pochettino has spoken repeatedly about how his team needs to “compete,” not merely “play” – and they came up short in that department here.

The United States’ vast improvement in all areas of the sport have powered their rise to the top of the North American pecking order. They’ve won all three editions of Concacaf Nations League to date and produced the region’s best performance at the 2022 World Cup. And they’ve done all this largely at Mexico’s expense, knocking their rivals off the perch they owned for decades and stacking up wins over El Tri with a regularity that past USMNT generations could hardly have imagined.

So much so, in fact, that younger players haven’t gotten as much experience in the rigors of fixtures like Tuesday’s, and what can go wrong when Mexico picks up some momentum, the “olé” chants start ringing out and that lung-burning elevation takes its toll on mind and body. What was once a humbling, motivating rite of passage for US players simply isn’t as familiar anymore.

It’s no accident that the Yanks have won a grand total of one game, ever, in 29 matches on Mexican soil. And that’s the silver lining here: The middle of the depth chart endured a bracing gauntlet together, one that they and Pochettino can call back on in the months ahead.

No one in that group should forget how this particular loss felt, and I don’t think they will.

“This type of game, I think, is perfect for us to learn,” said the Argentine. “For us, it's a process that we started days ago, and today was a great opportunity for our players to visit a very difficult place to play, and I think only we can improve from and learn from this experience.”