GUADALAJARA, Mexico -- Lining up against Mexico in front of a raucous crowd in Estadio Akron, the U.S. men's national team was missing several key stars, including Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah. Their absences were felt in a 2-0 defeat, marking Mauricio Pochettino's first loss as U.S. manager.
"It wasn't a great performance," Pochettino said following the match. "It's perfect for us to learn [from]...We started the game well, but after we conceded the goal after 22 minutes the impact was massive for us."
The U.S. struggled in all three phases of the match, with the midfield appearing absent for 90 minutes. With several leading Americans out of the fold, this was an opportunity for players with uncertain roles to make their cases for more playing time.
That was especially true for like Brenden Aaronson, who is shining on the club level but hasn't had a signature moment for the U.S. yet. Based on Tuesday's outing, he will join a few players who failed to take advantage of their chances against Mexico.
"Overall, I think Mexico was a little bit better than us and they fully deserve the victory," Pochettino explained. "But for us, this is a process that we started 10 days ago and today was a great opportunity for our players to [be in] a very difficult place to play and I think we can only improve and learn from this experience."
GOAL breaks down the winners and losers from Estadio Akron.