Soccer <\/p>\n
There are ample situations in international soccer in which Patrick Agyemang<\/a> would have lost his starting spot by this point, many coaches who would have lost patience with a talented, committed but still-raw striker finding his feet at this level.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Charlotte FC<\/a>\u2019s rising star missed a big chance for the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> in the first half of Sunday\u2019s 2-1 Gold Cup Group D win<\/a> over Haiti at AT&T Stadium, for example, Grenadiers goalkeeper Johny Placide palming away his low shot after a Luca de la Torre<\/a> pass had sent him clear on a one-on-one breakaway that would have, probably should have pushed the Yanks back into the lead.<\/p>\n Yet that is most definitely not Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s approach to this tournament, and the emerging group he\u2019s chosen to compete in it.<\/p>\n “Patrick is doing a fantastic job for the team. We are so happy with him, all that he gave to the team today and the previous games also,\u201d said the Argentine coach postgame. \u201cHe\u2019s a fantastic striker; still room to improve, yes. We are so, so pleased with him.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Despite that 24th-minute miss, and Agyemang\u2019s other unpolished moments in a USMNT kit, the big No. 9 is the only US player to appear in all nine of the program\u2019s matches this year, the first of which was his debut. And Pochettino\u2019s faith was vindicated by the time the final whistle sounded in Arlington, Texas.<\/p>\n Because it was Agyemang who finally found the game-winner, ghosting in behind the Haitian back line to meet a gorgeously-weighted pass from left back John Tolkin, swerving past the advancing Placide and calmly side-footing his finish into the empty net from a sharp angle at some distance. In strictly technical terms, it was probably a more difficult chance than the one he\u2019d spurned before \u2013 and that, perhaps, offers a clue as to why Pochettino wants him on the pitch.<\/p>\n \u201cMe and John,\u201d Agyemang explained to FOX\u2019s Jenny Taft postgame, \u201cwe talked about that pass, and he played the ball perfectly. And for me, it was like, once I saw the \u2018keeper come out, it\u2019s like, \u2018compose yourself, take your time.\u2019 And I round the goalkeeper, and once I got there, it was like, just finish, and happily it went in.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Something similar could be said about Matt Freese<\/a>. The US and New York City FC<\/a> \u2018keeper gifted Haiti an equalizer nine minutes after Malik Tillman\u2019s early opener, when he shanked a bouncing back pass from Tim Ream straight to Louicius Don Deedson, who immediately punished the error with a firm strike into the far side netting.<\/p>\n It was the proverbial howler, a goalie\u2019s nightmare and a destabilizing setback for a side who\u2019d seemingly been on course for a composed third win of the group stage, thus doing their part to avoid meeting potent Mexico in the quarterfinal stage. Freese is new to the USMNT; \u2018Poch\u2019 has previously explained his preference to test him under stress his summer and see how he responds, rather than simply ride longtime starter Matt Turner, who\u2019s a known quantity at this juncture.<\/p>\n The coach wants his squad playing, not overthinking.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don’t need to say nothing. That is easy,\u201d Pochettino said when asked about his message to Freese after the error. \u201cThe best way to trust in a player is not to tell nothing, not to tell, \u2018be careful with this\u2019 or \u2018be careful with that.’ No, move on. Remember: the most important action is the next one. If you think in the last one, you are dead, you’re going to do another mistake.<\/p>\n \u201cNo, nothing to say, because this type of accident happened, and it’s going to happen in the future. But we are so happy with him and with the quality of our \u2018keepers, of course, and in the way that they are supporting each other. And I think that can happen in any \u2018keeper.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n On paper, the Yanks have cruised into the Gold Cup\u2019s knockout stages just like they always have, since the tourney\u2019s birth in the early 1990s. On grass, this group is finding their way in fits and starts, stumbling and learning, figuring out moments like the Tolkin-Agyemang link-up as they go. It\u2019s not always the most attractive or reassuring process for fans, though Poch seems to be enjoying it.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to improve in everything,\u201d he said in Spanish. \u201cSome more than in others. But I think that in all, we have conceded only one goal in three games [and it was] through an accident; that can happen in football. What leaves me calm is the way that the error, or an accident, has not affected us.\u201d<\/p>\n The margins for error now shrink dramatically. Opponents of a much higher caliber await in the knockouts. Given the slow gelling process underway among his squad, Pochettino might wish to face the very best of the region later rather than sooner.<\/p>\n But he declared otherwise when asked whether he\u2019d rather face Mexico or Costa Rica, who played to a 0-0 draw<\/a> with El Tri later Sunday evening to finish second in Group A – setting up a quarterfinal showdown with the USMNT in Minnesota next weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt doesn’t make any difference to me,\u201d he said in Spanish, \u201cbecause in the end, if you want, are ambitious and you have the mentality to win the Gold Cup, whether you face certain rivals sooner or later is exactly the same. So no. The most important thing is to train, train well, rest, rest well, be efficient in rest and efficient in training to arrive in the best shape. There will be a bit of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n Persistence pays off<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Faith in Freese<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Competition stiffens<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n