ST. LOUIS - The U.S. men's national team accomplished the task, and did so in emphatic fashion. After spending most of 2024 either struggling or just squeaking by in various iterations of the squad, the U.S. finally turned in a comprehensive effort, crushing Jamaica 4-2 in St. Louis Monday night in a game that was even more lopsided than the score suggests.
And with that, the Mauricio Pochettino era is fully underway. The U.S. will now have more meaningful games in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals in the spring and, as the calendar moves closer to 2025, the team now has a signature performance under its new coach.
The positives more than outweighed the negatives in this two-game window. The U.S. went to Kingston and won, 1-0, then returned to St. Louis and won emphatically. It was about as smooth as possible, headlined by the USMNT's biggest stars raising their game with game-turning goals and assists. Just about everyone stepped up in what was a near-perfect window.
Not totally perfect, though. There were a few rough spots, some things that Pochettino will now be able to build upon and coach up. That's good, in a sense: it gives Pochettino the opportunity to push this group to be even better. So after the November camp, who stood out? Whose stock rose, and whose fell? GOAL takes a look.