Pochettino expects improvement from USA at World Cup

Mauricio Pochettino had demanded improvement from the United States for the World Cup following their 2-0 friendly defeat to Portugal on Tuesday.

Trincao and Joao Felix scored the goals in either half for the visitors, with Bruno Fernandes assisting both goals.

But the USA struggled to make their mark in the final third despite having 12 shots, as they accumulated just 0.7 expected goals (xG) and only got three of their attempts on target.

It was a second consecutive friendly loss for the World Cup co-hosts, having been thrashed 5-2 by Belgium on Saturday.

While Pochettino was impressed with the effort he saw from his side, he acknowledged there needs to be some improvement if they want to impress at the World Cup.

"In that situation, we need to read [the game] better," Pochettino said of the sequence that led to Portugal's first goal.

"This type of mistakes, they are not crazy. But in this type of game, players like [Pedro] Neto, [Goncalo] Ramos, Bruno, Joao Felix — when you give a centimetre, it's possible that they can score. That was what happened.

"We are USA. We are competing against Belgium, Portugal. I think for sure Belgium and Portugal have in the top 100, a few or some players playing in that top 100.

"I think we don't have. That is why it's good to play against these types of teams.

"Although it's difficult, this is the way to improve and understand how these teams compete. We managed to be competitive, but we have to improve."

For Portugal, it was a much-improved result from a frustrating 0-0 draw with Mexico in their first friendly, especially with Cristiano Ronaldo currently sidelined.

The Selecao dominated possession and looked strong in the final third, having 65 such entries, but they also had just 12 touches in the opposition box and accumulated 0.7 xG.

"Without a doubt, the training camp had many objectives, and I was very satisfied with all of them," Roberto Martinez said.

"The final score isn't the only important aspect. It was a training camp to look for new solutions, to experiment with tactical aspects, not only in games, but also in training."

One player who did not feature in the games was Pote, who arrived at the training with a slight issue, and Martinez explained he did not want to aggravate it with the World Cup only two months away.

"Regarding Pote, my decision was not to risk it; the pitch was a bit dangerous," he added.

"His commitment to the national team is five stars, fantastic. He arrived and had two or three days of individual work; now it was more important to neutralise the danger and for him to be fit until the end of the season.

"Lack of playing time isn't a bad sign. He's in the same position as the others; we'll monitor him, and the decision will be made in May."