Soccer <\/p>\n
The opponent, the head coach and many of the faces on the pitch were different. Yet the 2-0 scoreline, the noisy, intimate venue and the warm welcome from the faithful felt like a familiar blanket, reminding the US men\u2019s national team<\/a> why Columbus has been their program\u2019s spiritual home for more than a quarter-century.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n After Tuesday\u2019s solid, stabilizing 2-0 win<\/a> over Japan at Lower.com Field, Mauricio Pochettino gamely insisted that the process was what mattered most, a process that won\u2019t really reach its conclusion until their FIFA 2026 World Cup<\/a> campaign kicks off in Inglewood, California next summer.<\/p>\n Still, there was no mistaking the priceless power of a timely, deserved victory.<\/p>\n \u201cIt just shows us that it’s working,\u201d New York City FC<\/a> goalkeeper Matt Freese<\/a> told TNT\u2019s postgame show after his third clean sheet in US colors. \u201cWe all believe in the plan and the process. But tangible results like tonight, really, it just makes it even more obvious.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen we’re courageous and when we’re aggressive and we play like ourselves, we can hang with the best and play really good stuff. We\u2019re a difficult team to play against when we’re at our best.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The good vibes always seem to flow a bit more easily in Ohio\u2019s capital city. The Yanks are now 11W-1L-3D all-time in Columbus, where \u2018dos a cero\u2019 is both tagline and tradition, and vocal support is a point of local pride.<\/p>\n There have been so many headwinds for so much of Pochettino\u2019s year in charge: falling short in Concacaf Nations League<\/a> and Gold Cup<\/a>, off-field drama around prominent players, seven straight losses against highly-ranked opponents, including to Son Heung-Min<\/a>\u2019s South Korea in New Jersey last Saturday<\/a>.<\/p>\n In that context, this felt like quite a bit more than just a decent friendly W.<\/p>\n A shift to a 3-4-2-1 formation \u2013 fittingly, the same shape Wilfried Nancy has utilized to build LDC\u2019s main tenants, the Columbus Crew<\/a>, into an MLS power \u2013 seemed to simplify the tactics and empower US players all over the pitch. The Yanks\u2019 pressing was far more effective, powered by the tenacity and bite that have always been the hallmark of the best USMNT sides.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were talking this whole camp about intensity, aggressiveness,\u201d said playmaker Alejandro Zendejas, who grabbed with both hands the opportunity presented to him after long periods out of the squad. \u201cWe talked about it before the game, that we got to be intense on pressing, aggressiveness and all that.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s crazy to take all this in,\u201d he added. \u201cHonestly, I didn’t expect to get called up, but luckily, man, God’s timing, and, yeah, trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get, because you don’t get that many.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Magisterial play from Arfsten & Zendejas. ????pic.twitter.com\/0LxNMTJFIE<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Perhaps the biggest relief of all? Well-crafted, well-taken goals from Zendejas \u2013 off a superb cross by the Crew\u2019s Max Arfsten<\/a>, looking far more comfortable as a wingback than a fullback \u2013 and Folarin Balogun, the latter clinically dispatching Christian Pulisic\u2019s slotted pass, offering vital evidence of class and cohesion in attack.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s a player that we really believe in from day one,\u201d said Pochettino of Arfsten, \u201cbecause I’ve seen in the way that he is, his character, his personality, the characteristics of this player, I think it\u2019s a combo that we really love.<\/p>\n \u201cThe potential is massive, and he\u2019s performed really well.\u201d<\/p>\n If Arfsten always had Poch\u2019s attention, Zendejas has had to wait far longer for his moment under the microscope, despite several seasons of excellence for LIGA MX giants Club Am\u00e9rica. The FC Dallas<\/a> product may have vaulted up the depth chart on this outing alone.<\/p>\n \u201cWith this type of performance,\u201d said Pochettino, \u201che’s in the race for the roster of the World Cup.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n How do you say ‘dos a cero’ in Japanese? ???? pic.twitter.com\/lPWJg8TiLK<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) September 10, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n By the game\u2019s final stages, a squad that looked so ponderous and plodding over the weekend was pouring forward with real verve, substitutes like Jack McGlynn<\/a> and Diego Luna<\/a> tangibly hungry to add their names to the scoresheet.<\/p>\n \u201cConfidence, you know? I think it\u2019s really important,\u201d said Balogun, a late addition to the roster whose absence from the initial list now looks almost ludicrous. \u201cResults are, at the end of the day, the sort of industry we’re in.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were just more connected together. We was obviously more clinical as well, in both boxes, and that’s what the coach wanted us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n Now both the USMNT and their supporters can look ahead to October’s friendlies vs. Ecuador (at Austin FC<\/a>‘s Q2 Stadium) and Australia (at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, home of the Colorado Rapids<\/a>) with brighter eyes and calmer dispositions.<\/p>\n \u201cI spoke after our game against South Korea about giving the fans some good news before we split away from camp,\u201d said Balogun. \u201cWe’re building something big here, obviously a top coach, and it takes time, and he tried to emphasize that to us, to be patient.<\/p>\n “But at the end of the day, the result’s the most important thing.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n Get-right result<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Seizing the moment<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Morale boost<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n