Having expanded his player pool during a CONCACAF Gold Cup that ended with a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Sunday’s final, U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino has eight friendlies left from September through March to evaluate players to pick for the World Cup.
Diego Luna scored twice in the first 15 minutes, and the United States hung on to beat Guatemala 2-1 to reach its first CONCACAF Gold Cup final since 2021.
Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer for the third straight year with total annual compensation of $20.4 million, greater than the entire payroll of 21 teams.
Defender Chris Richards scored with a flick of the ball off a second-half free kick to lift the United States to a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia, sending the Americans on to the CONCACAF Gold Cup quarterfinals.
Alex Freeman, son of former Super Bowl champion Antonio Freeman, made his U.S. national team debut on June 7 and started in Sunday's CONCACAF Gold Cup opener against Trinidad and Tobago.
Turkey took advantage of a sloppy defense to beat the United States 2-1 in a rainy friendly, dealing the Americans their third straight loss as Arda GĂĽler and Kerem AktĂĽrkoÄźlu scored in a 2-minute, 20-second span midway through the first half.
Sergiño Dest has been dropped from the U.S. roster for the CONCACAF Gold Cup over fitness concerns, leaving the Americans heading to the tournament with just four players who started in the team’s final match of the 2022 World Cup.
Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Antonee Robinson, Josh Sargent and Joe Scally will miss the CONCACAF Gold Cup, leaving the United States with a depleted roster for its last competitive soccer matches before the 2026 World Cup.
