USMNT's second half vs. Ecuador gives positives for Pochettino

AUSTIN, Texas -- At archetypal glance, the word "tale of 2 halves" doesn't look due to picture Friday's 1-1 gully betwixt the U.S. men's nationalist squad (USMNT) and Ecuador. The U.S. had a sizable possession vantage throughout, created bully chances, and dominated La Tri for agelong stretches. But looking from a antithetic angle, it is applicable.

In the archetypal half, adjacent arsenic the U.S. controlled the tempo (64.4% vs. 35.6% possession), it was Ecuador that controlled a cardinal area. They made much of the small plays that mattered. That quality is successful enactment with their caller history. They are a broadside that person ridden antiaircraft solidity, fantabulous goalkeeping erstwhile needed, and an opportunistic onslaught to decorativeness 2nd successful World Cup qualifying down reigning champions Argentina. Along the way, La Tri conceded a miniscule 5 goals successful 18 matches. While 14 goals scored isn't precisely prolific, it proved to beryllium capable to suffice for their sixth-straight World Cup.

In this match, for a fractional astatine immoderate rate, Ecuador checked each 1 of those boxes. The defence was adept astatine constricting space, deflecting passes, and forcing the U.S. into unsighted alleys. On the uncommon occasions erstwhile the U.S. broke through, goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez was determination to present a brace of outstanding saves, including a deflection disconnected the station from a Chris Richards changeable successful the 26th minute.

In attack, Ecuador punished the U.S. with a modulation extremity successful the 24th minute. U.S. midfielder Aidan Morris came up bare erstwhile helium tried to leap connected a modulation walk to Jordy Alcivar, and Ecuador midfielder's consequent provender to Enner Valencia allowed the Pachuca striker to get into a one-vs.-one concern against Richards, which helium made the astir of to occurrence location a changeable conscionable wrong Matt Freese's acold post.

That play, afloat of small victories that turned into a captious sequence, defined the archetypal half.

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In the 2nd half, the U.S. reversed the trend. It defended with much composure, upped the tempo successful onslaught and scored a extremity disconnected the property successful a play that featured Tim Weah, Tanner Tessmann and Malik Tillman, and ended with Folarin Balogun scoring disconnected Tillman's centering feed. The U.S. did what it could to find a winner, but couldn't interruption done again.

That said, it was a show that reflected good connected the USMNT, adjacent if the scoreline wasn't wholly satisfying. It showed plentifulness of dynamism successful attack, with Tillman and Weston McKennie utilizing plentifulness of clever touches to find Balogun successful the benignant of spaces down a defence successful which helium thrives. Defensively, it looked coagulated successful a enactment that echoed the attack successful the

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