ST. PAUL, Minn -- United States manager Mauricio Pochettino said his side isn't in the best condition ahead of Tuesday's friendly against Canada, after already playing three games during this window to Canada's two, but that his team will "be ready."
The USMNT is flying high after winning their third match in a row during the September/October window, a 3-0 victory over bitter rivals Mexico. Teenagers Julian Hall and Cavan Sullivan were among the goalscorers, with Sullivan's tally making him the youngest scorer in USMNT history.
Pochettino added that the U.S. team's flight from Phoenix was delayed two hours, and that had affected the team's preparations. He stressed that among his priorities is managing the load of players so that they can continue performing for their clubs.
"It's about to keep growing and I think supporting the players and to finish the [window] in a very good condition," he said. "But I am sure that the players, even if we were competing a lot and traveling, that can affect, we are going to be ready for [Tuesday], with fresh energy. And I think it's a good opportunity for continuous growing in that camp."
Pochettino added that there is no connection between the upcoming match and past games. That goes for last Saturday's match against Mexico, as well as the 2025 Concacaf Nations League encounter against Canada in which the Reds prevailed 2-1 -- a low point of Pochettino's tenure.
The Argentine manager indicated that focusing purely on the next match will help his side avoid an emotional letdown, even though Canada is also a rival.
"Every single game is different and it's a different world," Pochettino said. "We cannot connect the last game with the next one. We need to build our next game in the best way to try to be competitive and be sure that we can be close to win."
As for how the two teams have evolved since their last encounter, Pochettino said both sides are embarking on new eras.
"I think it's complete a new cycle, even for Canada, for [manager Jesse Marsch]. I think the chapter was closed after the World Cup and now it's a new chapter," Pochettino said. "I think that is all new. The group is different than when we faced Canada before. For Canada the same. I think it's a new, a fresh start for every single country like Mexico also that we were playing. Even if Jesse was and we were, also the expectation and everything is start from front zero and I think it's a fresh start. It's nothing related with the game that we played before."
Pochettino added, that he has full respect for Marsch given his past encounters going up against the Canada manager.
"I know Jesse very well. I like him [as] a coach. Always difficult to play against teams that he coach," Pochettino said. "He's intense. Teams are aggressive. A good mix in between being aggressive without the ball and then when they try with the ball they have a lot of different [options] and then we need to be focused. And yes, it's a very good challenge for us tomorrow and yes, hope that we can enjoy everything we can."
If the U.S. beats Canada on Tuesday, it will be 4-0 in the international window following wins over Peru and Chile before beating Mexico.
