The United States men’s national team’s recent run of four straight wins has prompted a new question: whether the program is finally moving beyond its long habit of waiting for one star to carry it, according to The Guardian.
In the latest international window after the World Cup, Mauricio Pochettino turned to a youth-heavy squad, calling up 13 debutants and eight teenagers. The team responded with 4-1 and 4-2 wins over Peru and Chile, a 3-0 victory over Mexico and, on Tuesday, a 1-0 result against Canada.
What stood out in those matches was not only the emergence of younger players, but also the absence of Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. Pulisic stayed with Milan and McKennie remained at Juventus to recover from an injury, yet the US still produced a composed and balanced set of performances without leaning on either player.
The Guardian’s Leander Schaerlaeckens argues that the results point to a deeper pool of options for the USMNT, with contributions spread across the lineup rather than concentrated on a single figure. That would mark a shift for a team long defined by hopes that the next standout talent would solve its biggest problems.
