POCHETTINO DEFENDS US AFTER 3-2 LOSS TO TURKEY

Mauricio Pochettino criticised journalists for their questions following the United States' 3-2 defeat to Turkey on Thursday. Pochettino stated that his team had achieved its objective by finishing first in Group D and said he expected congratulations rather than scrutiny of the loss. He described questions about the match as "weird" and expressed satisfaction with his squad's performance and mood.

The US had secured top spot in the group after a 4-1 victory against Paraguay in the opening match—a record goal tally for a World Cup fixture by the team—and a 2-0 win against Australia. Pre-match discussion had focused on whether the US could maintain momentum from those performances into the match against Turkey. Turkey scored the decisive goal in the final moments of the fixture, prompting discussion about the implications for the US's upcoming knockout stage match against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Wednesday.

Pochettino dismissed the concept of momentum as a meaningful factor in football, questioning whether other nations had lost momentum following defeats and stating that his objective was group victory, which had been achieved. He emphasised that his team had performed and competed well, and that finishing first in a difficult group merited recognition. Pochettino indicated the US squad was prepared for the knockout stage and expressed contentment with the team's condition going forward.