Pochettino happy with US response despite loss to Germany

The US were dealt a 2-1 defeat by Germany in their final warm-up friendly before the World Cup, but head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he was impressed by the character shown by his side.

Kai Havertz headed in Joshua Kimmich’s free kick to give four-time world champions Germany a second-minute lead, but World Cup co-hosts the US snatched a stunning equaliser through Antonee Robinson.

Leroy Sane then scored in the 57th minute to seal Germany’s victory at Soldier Field in Chicago.

“Overall, I think it was a good performance. I am happy with the performance of everyone. We play one of the most important teams in the world,” Pochettino told reporters.

“I think we need to be happy with that. We competed; we were unlucky; I think it was an even game.

“It was an amazing challenge for us to see how we react, how we show character, how we show togetherness, and how we start to play under pressure.”

The US open their Group D campaign against Paraguay on June 12 at SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles.

“We were demanding a lot from the player[s] in the past two weeks. I’ve seen us overload the player[s] and the team,” the Argentine manager said.

“Now [we have] to assess the load and be intelligent in the way we are going to arrive at the Paraguay [game], in the best condition, fresh with energy.”

Harry Kane’s header late in the first half lifted England to a 1-0 win over New Zealand on Saturday afternoon in the first of the contender’s first two World Cup tune-up friendlies at Tampa, Florida.

In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Kane flicked a Djed Spence cross into the right corner of the net past All Whites goalkeeper Max Crocombe.

His 79th career goal for England added to his all-time national lead while also serving as his 67th goal of the season for his club (Bayern Munich) and country.

With the sun beating down on a 32.7°C day in Florida, England dominated the match far more than the scoreline indicated.

That wasn’t a surprise considering this was a matchup of the fourth-ranked team in the Fifa/Coca-Cola World Rankings against the lowest-ranked team in this year’s World Cup (85th).

Even while subbing off their entire starting 11 at halftime — the first time the Three Lions used 22 players in a match since 2004 — England outshot New Zealand 23-3, held a 4-1 edge in shots on goal and possessed the ball for 71.7% of the match.

Matthew Garbett had New Zealand’s lone shot on goal, which Jordan Pickford saved in the 27th minute.

England, a fourth-place finisher at the 1990 and 2018 World Cups, are seeking their second Cup in history (1966).

The Three Lions will contest their final tune-up friendly on Wednesday against Costa Rica in Orlando before opening Group L play against Croatia on June 17 in Arlington, Texas.

New Zealand, which is competing in just its second World Cup since 1982 (2010), turn their attention to their Group G opener against Iran on June 15 at Inglewood, California.

Reuters