For months, even years now, many US men’s national team supporters have been fretful and frustrated about the state of their squad, worried the program is not on the proper trajectory as the 2026 FIFA World Cup looms ever closer.
On Friday night in Austin, a visit from menacing Ecuador, one of South America’s elite teams in this cycle, provided a tangible sense that this massively important tournament really is near – and for the first time in a while, it felt like the USMNT might actually be ready, or close to it.
“Too many positive things,” head coach Mauricio Pochettino declared after a pulsating, ruggedly physical 1-1 draw with La Tri at Austin FC's Q2 Stadium.
“Playing against a team like Ecuador always is important, because I think they are so competitive. And for us, it’s helping us to evolve and to develop in the way that we want to compete. I think it was a very good game.
“I really enjoyed the game, despite the way that we concede on the only chance that we concede in the first half.”
Bouncing back
The Yanks took an early punch when John Yeboah fed veteran striker Enner Valencia for a lightning-quick transition strike that viciously exploited a couple of fleeting US errors, a reminder of how ruthless elite opponents will be next summer. And they recovered admirably, painstakingly asserting control of the match and digging out a deserved equalizer via the excellent Folarin Balogun in the 71st minute.
This occasion underlined how tight the margins between success and disappointment can be against the world’s best, and the Yanks know they have work to do on the finer details if they're to have a real chance against adversaries on this level in the World Cup.
Yet their response to that challenge, undergirded by an ongoing sense of comfort in the 3-4-2-1 formation that worked so well against Japan last month, offers a degree of hope that’s been in short supply over the past year or so.
“There was really good attacking combination play,” Balogun told TNT’s Melissa Ortiz postgame. “We created a lot of chances. Me myself, I think I could have been a bit more clinical, so that's something for me to look at. But I definitely think we combined well, the attackers, and defensively, we were strong. Apart from the early goal we conceded, I think they didn't really have too many chances.”
Wanting more
The home side pressed for a winner right up to the final whistle, and the final scoreline felt underwhelming for them. Yet that in and of itself was a sign of progress.
“The performance was a very, very serious performance, very professional,” said Pochettino, who yet again harked back to what he considered a paucity of intensity among the group when he first took the helm a year ago. “We need to improve in some details, but I think in the way that we want to compete, in the way that we want to show our performance, and in the way that I think our fans are happy, that we showed that passion and competed.
“We are here talking about actions, concepts, formations, things like this that for me is, after one year, I am so, so, so happy that we don't talk about other things, like commitment, attitude, or things like this, that normally, in the past, we were talking. I think that is a massive step up."
Balogun builds his case
Balogun was superb in his movement and work rate up top, putting two of his three shots on target and setting up two chances for teammates in his 81 minutes on the pitch, while offering a useful outlet over the top when Ecuador pressed US buildups. The AS Monaco striker’s hold on the starting No. 9 role looks increasingly secure.
“Whenever he's able to use his speed and get in behind the line, I think he's so hard to track,” said Weston McKennie, the longtime USMNT linchpin who made a solid return to the starting lineup after several months away from the program.
“Today, he did very well with holding the ball as well. Any balls that we played, whenever we had trouble in the back and played up top, he was holding them very well, which, having a No. 9 like that, it gives a lot of relief to the team, takes a lot of pressure off of the team as well.”
The clock is ticking loudly as the summer of ‘26 draws nearer, it’s true. And a few more games like this one might finally provoke excitement rather than fear among the faithful.
“It was a game where I felt like we dominated,” said McKennie. “They’re a dangerous team on transitions, and dangerous whenever we gave them the opportunity to be dangerous off of our own mistakes.
“With the World Cup coming around the corner, there's a bit of urgency, and we want to kind of get a group together that's going to be a group, and understand and be able to play with each other, understand each other, how everyone moves, how everyone runs, passes, everything like that.”
