US coach Pochettino takes positives from Gold Cup despite defeat in final

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Jul 6, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino speaks to the media after the match against Mexico during the 2025 Gold Cup Final at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

REUTERS

The United States came up short in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to Mexico but will take valuable lessons from the tournament as they build towards next years World Cup, coach Mauricio Pochettino said.

The U.S. went ahead early in the game in Houston, Texas through Chris Richardss header but Mexico fought back through Raul Jimenez and Edson Alvarez to claim a 10th Gold Cup title.

Pochettino told reporters that while it had been a painful night for his side the tournament had been excellent preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Mexico and Canada.

It was a massive lesson for us. It was an amazing tournament to realize in the way that we wanted to grow, he added.

This is the way that I think we are going to find the way to compete better and better, and be very competitive and be in the place that we wanted to be.

When you lose a trophy or you lose a game its really, really painful. But the most important thing is to have our head up because I think the tournament was fantastic and we keep going, that is the way we want