The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) had a tough loss with a 2-0 defeat against South Korea in a World Cup warm-up game. Even though they lost Coach Mauricio Pochettino is still positive about how the team can do. The game showed how Son Heung-min is becoming more and more important in both Major League Soccer (MLS) and when playing for his country.
- USMNT got beat 2-0 by South Korea in their latest game.
- Coach Mauricio Pochettino thinks the team played better than what the final score shows.
- Son Heung-min is making waves in MLS and international football.
USMNT’s Performance and Pochettino’s Perspective
Coach Mauricio Pochettino saying that the USMNT was “better than South Korea” in their 2-0 loss has got people talking. With Pochettino in charge the team has won 5 games tied 0 and lost 4 which isn’t as good as everyone hoped for. Pochettino keeps talking about believing in the process and he’s brought in 12 MLS players to the team which shows he wants to build up talent from here in the US.
“Overall, I think we were better than South Korea,” coach Mauricio Pochettino said after the #USMNT lost Saturday’s World Cup tuneup 2-0 to Son Heung-min & Co.
Unfortunately for Poch and his players, that’s not even close to being true. @FOXSoccer: https://t.co/ToskpfrXNT— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre)
September 07, 2025
Son Heung-min’s Influence in MLS
Son Heung-min who now plays for Los Angeles Football Club, was really important in South Korea winning. When he moved from Tottenham Hotspur to LAFC for $26.5 million it was huge for MLS. Son who used to play under Pochettino at Tottenham did amazing there scoring 75 goals and getting 37 assists.
MLS’s Rising Competitiveness
Son coming to LAFC and maybe Kevin De Bruyne going to Chicago Fire shows how MLS is getting better and better. The league is changing real quick with teams like Vancouver Whitecaps and Atlanta United showing different levels of how good they are. All this changes how many good players are available for picking the national team which Pochettino is watching real close as he tries to make the USMNT better.
