‘No regular players’ - Sebastian Berhalter and Alex Freeman shine as Mauricio Pochettino emphatically shows the USMNT is bigger than any single name: Winners and losers from the win over Uruguay

Set pieces, set pieces, set pieces - they're important after all. It helps when you have someone who is apparently very good at them, and Berhalter might actually be just that. 

In a matter of minutes, Berhalter scored one from a set piece and set one up with a perfectly hit corner. It's the type of danger Berhalter has shown he can bring, but in truth, Berhalter had never shown anything quite like this even at his best in MLS. 

Up first was the free kick. Positioned on the left-hand side, Berhalter played it short to Sergino Dest, who laid it off right back to him. The Vancouver Whitecaps midfielder proceeded to smash a shot right into the back of the net, netting his first international goal. The celebrations after were emphatic, but Berhalter wasn't done. Just four minutes later, Berhalter whipped in a corner kick right to a wide-open Freeman, and the Orlando City star did the rest to make it 2-0.

"We wanted to make a statement," Berhalter said postgame. "We wanted to show what U.S. Soccer is about. We had a chance to go out here and give everything we had and show that we're ready."

Two goals in four minutes, and for a player fighting for a World Cup spot, this was a hell of a statement. It will surely leave Pochettino pleased. Berhalter has already shown he can bring the fight; now he's shown he can bring some goals, too, against an excellent Uruguay team.

Uruguay are looking for a goalkeeper. That much was made clear by their call-ups this month. In total, the group had eight caps between them heading into these games. After watching Santiago Mele start the 0-0 draw with Mexico, Fiermarin was given the nod on Tuesday.

He'll wish he hadn't. The 27-year-old goalkeeper wasn't at fault for all of the USMNT goals, but he surely did little to prevent them as he, like the rest of Uruguay's team, looked slow, lethargic, and, by the end of the first half, a little bit shellshocked.

There are times in a game like this where a goalkeeper can make one good save just to calm things down. That never happened. As goal after goal sailed past the goalkeeper, Uruguay seemingly got worse, ultimately leading to a dreadful scoreline and even worse performance.

The Orlando City defender broke out in MLS season as a dynamic, goal-threatening attacking fullback. We hadn't gotten a full glimpse of that yet in a USMNT shirt - despite playing in the 2025 Gold Cup. Yet, on Tuesday night, Uruguay had absolutely no idea how to handle the 21-year-old defender.

Freeman scored his first two USMNT goals on Tuesday, scoring one from a set piece and one from open play. The first came via a header, one perfectly placed thanks to a great ball in from Berhalter. The second, though, was all his. After receiving a pass just past Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte, Freeman then put Barcelona star Ronald Araujo on skates to create the space needed to fire his second into the back of the net.

"Before the game, you see the players and go 'Wow, he plays in the Prem, he plays in La Liga, they play in the Champions League', and, going into the game, you just try to get that out of your system and not think about it," Freeman said. "You think about you because it's you and him at the end of the day. If I'm able to think like that, I think it gives me confidence in myself. I'm not overthinking it, but I'm just trying to do my best to try and win my duel. At the end of the day, it's just me doing that and trying to play like I'm the best player on the pitch in my mind in every game."

It was certainly a statement performance from the player who was named the MLS Young Player of the Year Award this season. There will be a lot of big nights for Freeman ahead, but it'll be hard to have one bigger than this one, as the 21-year-old was the star of the show.

"I am so happy because today he scored twice," Pochettino said,  "but, in a way, I think you need to analyze the way that he plays. He can play like a third center back. He can go forward on the side. How difficult is it for the opponent to stop him from going inside and playing? When he has the ball, the team [can exhale]. He's so strong."

Ahead of the match, Pochettino was asked about his relationship with Bielsa. The two Argentines worked together at Newells, where Pochettino was a player under the legendary manager. He described the now-Uruguay coach as something more than a mentor; he described him as some sort of mythical figure, one that even he defers to when they come face to face.

"Always, my admiration and my respect are massive," Pochettino said Monday. "I cannot consider him like a friend. I cannot consider him like another normal person. It's a bigger respect. I speak with him like a man that you admire, like one that is your hero. He's the type of person that you wait [to] talk to. You always wait for him to say hello and then you say hello."

The USMNT showed Bielsa's side no such respect on Tuesday as they battered them thoroughly. And, through it all, Bielsa could only watch, frustrated, from his seat on his cooler.

Bielsa, of course, is known as "El Loco" for a reason. Behind closed doors, he will be none too pleased with this. There will be ramifications, no doubt, even with the World Cup on the horizon. This was a bad night for him, but more importantly, it was a bad night for Uruguay's players, who will now feel his wrath as a result.

Uruguay started a lineup featuring players from Manchester United, Barcelona and Tottenham. The USMNT lineup, by contrast, had five MLS players and four more MLS alumni.  This was nowhere near the USMNT's strongest group but, on this night, it was one good enough to beat Uruguay.

Yes, both teams were missing players. Uruguay will point to the absences of Federico Valverde and Darwin Nunez just as the USMNT points to the absences of Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie. No excuses from either side, then, for what happened on Tuesday.

Of the seven total contributions, five came from current MLS players. All four goals came from domestic players, all of whom really got their start as young players in the league. It was a sign of the USMNT's depth, but also a sign of the growth of players like Freeman, Berhalter and Luna, all of whom really got their USMNT starts during this calendar year.

"Four MLS scoring in the first half means a lot, not only to MLS, but to the U.S," Freeman said postgame. "It's knowing that these guys are coming from the U.S. and playing in the U.S. and are able to perform for the U.S. I feel like that just means a lot. The pool is big."