Should the USMNT be concerned about Pulisic’s goal drought?

Atlanta–the day after tomorrow United States of America men’s national team 2-0 damage to portugalHead coach Mauricio Pochettino mentioned that he may choose to make some tactical changes to help the star attacker Christian Pulisic End a long scoring drought and bring back some lost confidence.

“Maybe we can help a little [get him] A little closer to the goal,” he said.

The coach was really speaking. Pulisic started as a center forward on Tuesday and included familiar teammates Weston McKenney And Tim Weah Feed him the ball. He received more passes than any other American attacker in the first half and attempted seven ground duels, the most on the team. But he won only one of those duels, and although he made a few saves from the Portugal goalkeeper jose saHe really got burned again.

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It was Pulisic’s eighth consecutive national team match without a goal, the longest drought of his career, and by the time he got another chance, at least 18 months would have passed since his last U.S. goal. Frustration grew as the first half progressed AC Milan Starr committed some fouls and received a yellow card before half-time. He was dismissed after 45 minutes.

“We were able to create chances, if I finish chances, which I know I’m going to do, things will be a little different,” Pulisic said after the game.

Pulisic’s struggle – plus Portugal’s goal in the 37th minute after McKennie’s turnover and a perfect passing sequence vitinha To bruno fernandes To Francisco Trincao – Another solid first half performance was spoiled in which the US attempted eight shots to Portugal’s three and generated 0.45 xG compared to Portugal’s 0.26. The United States saw more touches in the box.

Neither team started their full first-choice lineup, but the second half showed the advantage of Portugal’s immense depth. Whereas patrick agyemang (derby county), Tanner Tesman (lyon) And max arfston (columbus crew) succeeded in recruiting Portugal coach Roberto Martínez for the US Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint Germain), mattheus nunes (Manchester City), joao felix (al nassar), And francisco conceição (juventus), among others.

Mendes, one of the best left backs in the world, was able to test immediately alex freeman The Americans moved down the right side and, after Freeman gave a corner, Joao Félix scored Portugal’s second goal in the 59th minute – both assisted by Fernandes. At that point, the match was effectively over.

The March international window before the World Cup is particularly strange. America created a program to include some veterans belgium And Portugal, knowing that the results will have a huge impact on perceptions and narratives heading into the summer. It’s safe to say that two combined 7-2 defeats will certainly define the discussion over the next few weeks.

There’s also a reason why Portugal boss Martínez called the team’s assessment “useless” in the first week of March. However, with a number of World Cup prospects still out with minor injuries and a number of roster spots still left, however, Pochettino needs more impact from many of the 24 players who saw the field in the two matches. what did he see?

• malik tillman Created five chances in 138 minutes while splitting time between a central attacking midfield role (against Belgium) and on the left wing (against Portugal). However, he only attempted two shots for himself, and put one on goal.

• McKennie scored from a set piece against Belgium and had another great chance early on against Portugal, which he sent wide. He was not as sharp in the second match and his turnovers near midfield led Portugal to their first goal.

• guard auston reliable Played almost the entire match against Portugal and won five out of seven duels. He was mostly steady in possession, although you could make the case that he dropped too low on Portugal’s first goal, giving Trincao the chance to fire an open shot.

• After struggling at right back against jeremy doku And Belgium, Weah was the team’s most dangerous attacker against Portugal, making six progressive carries (the most on the team) and sending a pair of dangerous crosses.

• aidan morris And Sebastian Berhalter Starting against a dynamite Portuguese midfield, he was given ample opportunities. Morris, one of the best duel winners in the player pool, won a pair of duels and made seven defensive interceptions, and each player completed four progressive passes.

• Freeman played 79 minutes on Tuesday and won four of seven duels, although she had her hands full with Nunes in the second half.

• Agyemang was mostly quiet against Portugal, but was the only bright spot against Belgium, scoring late on.

However, for now, the biggest impression comes from Pulisic. The 27-year-old has now gone 14 matches without scoring a goal for club and country, his longest drought since 2022.

“Physically I feel really good, feel really fast and I’m doing a lot of good things,” Pulisic said. “I have to help my team with assists, goals and create chances. Obviously it’s frustrating when I don’t do that, but I feel like I’m close and I feel like good things are coming.”

He will now return to Milan as they attempt to move up from second place serie a.

These two teams are counting on his return to form.