Best Performance of Pochettino Era Despite Third Straight Loss: Takeaways From USMNT vs. Turkiye

The U.S. men's national team lost their first game of the summer, an international friendly against Türkiye, 2–1 in East Hartford despite a strong start in Saturday's game.

Jack McGlynn opened the scoring a minute in with a curling strike from outside the box for his second in a USMNT shirt. Both of his goals have come from outside the penalty area while on international duty. After the Stars and Stripes matched their opposition in terms of intensity, Johnny Cardoso made a major mistake gifting Arda Güler the equalizer. Kerem Aktürkoğlu then took the lead for Türkiye shortly thereafter.

The score finished as such, but not for a lack of opportunities. Both teams pushed on intently throughout the rest of the friendly, but the final touch alluded both sides. While it's Mauricio Pochettino's third loss in a row as USMNT boss, the performance was much improved. Against a very impressive and talented Türkiye team as well. Tyler Adams after the game said the team will take more positives than negatives away as well showcasing how they feel about the performance.

Without a number of his European-based stars, including Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna to name a few, this is a big summer for Pochettino to further instill his tactical system with younger talent. But, most importantly, he has to rebuild trust that's been eroding since Gregg Berhalter's side crashed out of Copa América last summer.

Takeaways from USMNT's loss to Türkiye below.

A Major Improvement in the Effort Department

A fast and frenetic pace was set early with McGlynn firing a beautiful curling shot with his left foot past Berke Özer. The perfect start for the USMNT as an important summer got underway.

Türkiye settled in and began putting the USMNT under pressure, but Pochettino's side matched them blow for blow for a period. Perhaps not with the same technical quality some of Türkiye's top players have, but with passion and effort. Whether it was Chris Richards making a last-ditch tackle, or Malik Tillman sliding in for an inch-perfect challenge to win a ball, the USMNT was up for this game.

Their heads could've very well dropped after Cardoso switched off and gifted Arda Güler a goal, or after Aktürkoğlu scored three minutes after to flip the script. But, the starters kept pushing throughout the first half, sticking to their patterns of play. If not for the odd nature of Türkiye's first goal, they would've went into halftime at 1–1. The hectic nature of the first 45 didn't let Pochettino's men slow things down either, which forced players to step up. Substitutes like Tyler Adams and Quinn Sullivan also played with a purpose after coming off the bench in the second half.

It wasn't a question of passion this time around as critics have routinely called out the USMNT for low effort performances. Instead, it was more a display of the disparity in quality at times. Players looked like they realized an opportunity was available to impress Pochettino and they wanted to make the most of it. And, hopefully, a sign of Pochettino's quality beginning to take shape.

Fans will always say, at minimum, give everything you have whenever you wear the shirt. Effort can lead to results, but you won't get results without effort.

The match was a major step forward in rebuilding belief in the USMNT squad.

Malik Tillman Impresses in Showing

The PSV Eindhoven player was one of the USMNT's top performers. He provided his first assist in a international shirt for McGlynn's opener. Tillman's shown versatility in the Eredivisie this season playing as a left winger, attacking, central and defensive midfielder. He scored 12 goals across 26 matches as PSV won the Dutch league.

He was involved in all aspects of play, making his presence felt across the attacking third. He nearly added a goal in the second half after some brilliant play from Diego Luna and Tyler Adams as the latter teed up a cross. Tillman rose tall, but couldn't get any power behind the ball as Özer claimed it with ease.

His overall performance should please Pochettino and earn him significant minutes in the Gold Cup. The Argentine coach has frequently called on Diego Luna in his short time in charge, but having Tillman as another solid option in the 10 won't hurt.

Not to mention, if Tillman and Luna can set the standards this summer it'll force the European-based talent absent from the Gold Cup to step up.

Johnny Cardoso Must Erase Mistakes If He's Going to Earn a Starting Role

Johnny Cardoso will be kicking himself after a failed clearance resulted in a Türkiye equalizer in the 24th minute. The player's been linked with a move to Atlético Madrid this summer after a strong campaign with Real Betis, but this wasn't the same player today who performed in Spain.

Tyler Adams is the only defensive midfield regular in camp this summer, giving Cardoso a big opportunity to showcase his potential and give Pochettino a headache. And, Adams's spot isn't under threat save for an injury.

Cardoso must flush the first half and look to go again in the Gold Cup. Otherwise, he'll be looked over for Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, his pivot partner on the day Luca De La Tore and potentially Tanner Tessmann once the World Cup comes around.