Sometimes getting smacked in the face with reality is exactly what you need. What happened last autumn was great for this U.S. men’s national team. A victorious run was important and valuable to build confidence and belief.
And it is the right message from U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino to encourage this team to “be realistic and do the impossible.”
But the U.S. cannot afford to forget the first part of that tagline. Saturday’s 5-2 loss to Belgium was as clear a reminder as a team can get. “I think it’s a good reality check for us,” Pochettino said.
The very best U.S. teams play with an underdog mentality. But the U.S. isn’t good enough to relax against the elite. It can’t coast to the latter stage of the World Cup that Pochettino dreams of and has stated as a target.
It cannot afford to drop its intensity – not against the strongest of opponents. It has to match and surpass the work of those opponents in order to get the results it’s seeking.
Saturday was a warning. Tuesday, against another world-class team in Portugal, is the first chance to show the U.S. can take its lesson, turn around and set things right.
It’s why a 5-2 loss to Belgium in March, unpleasant as it was, could end up being a good thing come June.
