Christian Pulisic showed his frustration after the final whistle and highlighted the challenges that Mauricio Pochettino will face.
A defensive error in the 89th minute led to a 1-1 draw for the United States against New Zealand in a friendly match on Tuesday night. This game started 30 minutes after the U.S. Soccer Federation announced that Pochettino would be the new coach for the Americans through the 2026 World Cup.
“It’s time to turn the page and we really have to pick it up a level,” Pulisic said. “Everyone is part of this and it feels pretty low right now, but I know there’s better times ahead.”
Mikey Varas, who was serving as interim coach after Gregg Berhalter’s dismissal following the team’s first-round exit in the Copa America, led the team for the second game. The U.S. had lost 2-1 to Canada on Saturday, marking their first home loss to Canada since 1957.
Pulisic scored to give the U.S. the lead in the 69th minute, 12 minutes after coming on, and moved past Brian McBride with his 31st international goal, placing him fifth on the U.S. career list. However, mistakes by Caleb Wiley and Mark McKenzie allowed Ben Waine to score in the 89th minute.
In front of a crowd of 15,711 at the 26,000-capacity TQL Stadium, the U.S. extended its winless streak to four games overall and four consecutive home games for the first time since a seven-game stretch in 2010-11.
Pochettino is set to arrive in the U.S. on Wednesday and will take charge before the upcoming friendlies against Panama on October 12 in Austin, Texas, and Mexico three days later.
“Everybody is excited for this next chapter. He brings tremendous quality,” Varas said. “I’m proud that we moved the program forward a little bit. And with Mauricio coming in, it’s going to be accelerated, and I think really good things are ahead of us.”
Pulisic scored after a buildup involving 11 passes from Chris Richards, McKenzie, Aidan Morris, Marlon Fossey, Luca de la Torre, Ricardo Pepi, and Folarin Balogun.
After Pepi passed him the ball, Pulisic touched it with both feet and then took a left-footed shot that went under defender Bill Tuiloma and past goalkeeper Max Crocombe.
New Zealand’s goal came from a long pass by Nando Pijnaker that traveled more than half the length of the field. The ball hit Logan Rogerson’s foot, and Wiley attempted a header to clear it but instead passed the ball to McKenzie.
McKenzie tried to clear the ball again with his left foot, but it deflected off Waine and went over goalkeeper Matt Turner, who was about 8 yards out from his line.
Turner, who was playing his first match in 10 weeks, stood with his hands on his hips and then slapped them on his sides. Pulisic looked frustrated when the final whistle blew after nearly 10 minutes of stoppage time.
Pepi, who was one of six changes in the U.S. lineup, thought he had scored in the 19th minute after receiving a pass from Fossey, who was making his national team debut a day after his 26th birthday.
However, Pepi had pushed defender Liberato Cacace just before taking the shot, and Honduran referee Selvin Brown disallowed the goal after consulting with an assistant.
For the seventh time in eight matches, no MLS players started. Out of 209 starting spots in the 19 games available since the 2022 World Cup, only eight have been filled by MLS players.
Pulisic expects Pochettino to bring about changes.
“Hopefully a culture that is willing to fight, that is willing to take risks,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that need to change, just the mentality and the culture of the group. I think we have the quality but I know hopefully that’s the first thing that he is going to want to change.”
