Overshadowed by the backlash over Folarin Balogun and the wider post-World Cup critique, one key detail was largely missed: outside of an inconsequential group-stage finale, Mauricio Pochettino modified his starting eleven just once across the U.S. team’s other four tournament matches.
That lone substitution, inserting Ricardo Pepi for Australia, was necessitated solely by an injury to Christian Pulisic.
Still, the most significant aspect of the squad’s four consecutive victories in the international window—capped Tuesday night by a win over Canada—is that these past two weeks signal meaningful progress in addressing the depth concerns that persisted throughout the summer.
Consequently, the ideal starting XI is no longer a guaranteed fixture, and should the Americans encounter resistance in the CONCACAF Nations League, which begins next month with a two-leg quarterfinal against Haiti, Pochettino can expect his bench to meaningfully influence the result.
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