USMNT player ratings vs New Zealand: Christian Pulisic scores, Yunus Musah struggles as bad run continues in draw

CINCINNATI -- American soccer only had one eye on Tuesday night's friendly against New Zealand. The other was hyper-focused on an auspicious announcement. If you didn't hear, there's finally a new coach in charge and as expected, it is Mauricio Pochettino.

Attention will widely be on Pochettino's first game in charge in October. Yet, those who did watch what happened in a friendly against New Zealand Tuesday night saw some level of improvement, but also a whole lot to be worried about.

Christian Pulisic came off the bench to score for the USMNT, who couldn't hold the lead in what ended as a 1-1 draw. A defensive breakdown led to Mark McKenzie clearing the ball directly of Ben Waine and in. That's just how things are bouncing right now for the USMNT. On the pitch, they can't catch a break.

The match was played before an announced attendance of only 15,711, much less than FC Cincinnati's season average of 25,292.

"Obviously difficult results for us, and it’s not a great feeling. But I think moving forward, it’s time to turn a page and we really have to pick it up a level - I mean everyone that’s a part of this," Pulisic said on TNT. "It feels pretty low right now but I know there’s better times ahead."

Fortunately for the U.S., the page has largely been turned due to Tuesday's coaching hire. Tuesday was Pochettino's day, and the road to the 2026 World Cup really starts now, even if the performance in Cincinnati shows there's still so much work to be done.

GOAL rates USMNT players from TQL Stadium.