The United States team finished first in Group D. On the last day of the group, the American team was defeated 3-2 by Türkiye. Mauricio Pochettino was questioned about the USMNT's performance in that match. But the Argentine strategist does not feel that they value the classification.

Despite the defeat, the United States team led Group D. The USMNT closed this first phase with two wins and one loss. However, closing with defeat worried American soccer analysts. Mauricio Pochettino questioned the concerns which, in his opinion, are exaggerated.

"It seems like we are coming home and Turkey is staying. What we need to remember is that we won first place in this group. We ended up being number one and we handled all the pressure and expectations pretty well. We had other priorities. We wanted to win. Yes, we wanted the win, but there are other things that we needed to balance, and that's how I made the decisions," said the Argentine strategist.

The Mexican team was the only host that was able to win its three games in the first round. But Mauricio Pochettino does not focus on numbers. The goal of the United States was to advance to the round and they achieved it.

"That they don't say congratulations because we won the group is a little sad. If we win the next game, it won't matter anything, and if we don't win, you can say whatever you want," he added.

It is worth mentioning that Türkiye lost its other two games in the group. The European team could only add against the United States. However, this was not enough for the Turks to fight for third place. The draw between Paraguay and Australia buried Türkiye's hopes and gave the USMNT some breathing room.

"It doesn't matter what I tell them, it won't convince them. The press will write what they believe or what they want. But, to be honest, I come back to the same thing: we have qualified as first and we have moved on to the next round," he stressed.

Data from Türkiye's victory over the United States