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Alexi Lalas says he expects coach Mauricio Pochettino will maintain lineup continuity for the USMNT's second Gold cup group stage match against Saudi Arabia. The USMNT beat Trinidad and Tobago 5-0 in their tournament opener, ending a four game losing streak.
“Yeah, I think you run it back,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “I don't think that in the climate that exists today and in this moment that Mauricio Pochettino and this team can afford to experiment. Now he might have had completely different plans as to what he was going to do with the Gold Cup, but then you know, all the drama with Christian Pulisic and all that and you know, coming in with four losses and the two losses in terms of the preparation games against Turkey and Switzerland."
Lalas also said Saudi Arabia are a tougher opponent than Trinidad and Tobago.
“I think Pochettino recognizes that he has to put his best foot forward, and his best foot involves the best players. But I think many of those players will be the same when it comes to the lineup against Saudi Arabia," he said. "And make no mistake, Saudi Arabia is not a Trinidad and Tobago or this version of Trinidad and Tobago. This is a much better team. I think this is going to be a much better test."
WHAT ALEXI LALAS SAID
A former USMNT defender who earned 96 caps for the US, Lalas said there's pressure on Pochettino's side to maintain momentum.
“If this team doesn't again rise to the occasion, then they risk destroying and undoing all the good that they did," Lalas said. "And so they risk regressing and maybe even going back further because there are a lot of people that are watching this team and after that first game said, that's all fine and well, but it's against Trinidad and Tobago and they're watching it with arms folded saying, all right, let's see what you can do now."
Even with an generally inexperienced roster, Lalas believes the U.S. can make a run in the Gold Cup.
“This is not, as we said, the best team at the Gold Cup by any stretch of the imagination," he said. "And they're coming up against a team that has been at the previous World Cup, that is not from CONCACAF in Saudi Arabia, and will give them a much, much better game.
"And so let's see if these guys individually, whether it's a young, inexperienced player like [Patrick] Agyemang or whether it's the introduction of someone like Tyler Adams, that they step up and they parlay that first game into another game. And in doing so, again, push more of that stuff away and develop some momentum going forward.”
THE BIGGER PICTURE
The USMNT enters this crucial second match carrying both the confidence of their opening win and the lingering pressure from recent disappointing performances and off-field controversies.
WHAT’S NEXT?
The USMNT will face Saudi Arabia on Thursday in the second game of their Gold Cup group stage at the Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas.