By OkayGoal 
The U.S. men’s national team were stretched out at times in Saturday’s friendly against South Korea, a continuous theme that eventually led to another worrying defeat in World Cup preparation.
Despite improving in the second half, the Americans lost 2-0 to the Taegeuk Warriors, marking their sixth defeat in eight tries against a Top-25 ranked country since the 2022 FIFA World Cup. On both of South Korea’s first-half goals, they used their speed and clinical passing to cut through the USMNT defense, riding a lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.
Veteran defender Tim Ream hinted at the personnel changes in the backline which could’ve played a part in the defeat while captain Tyler Adams admitted the team was slow to react against South Korea’s dynamic attacking front.
“There were moments where guys were getting pulled [out] a little bit more than we usually do and a little bit more than we work on,” Ream said in a postgame mixed zone to reporters. “And again, it’s one of those things that you look at a few guys who it’s their first game back with the national team. Tristan [Blackmon], it’s his very first game, first cap, so it was bound to happen a little bit, I think a little bit of eagerness to try to get to areas that we maybe necessarily couldn’t get to.”
“I think our roles got a little bit twisted,” Adams added. “They found solutions pretty easily in the first half. We talked about it at halftime…And I think we just missed our [defensive] triggers on a lot of them and we were a little bit too late to jump, and when you’re too late to jump, you end up chasing shadows, and that’s what it felt like at times.”
The USMNT has now lost six home matches in 2025, marking the fourth time in program history that the program has earned that un-wanted statistic. They have failed to show much consistency under Pochettino despite reaching the CONCACAF Gold Cup Final in July.
Luckily for the USMNT, they have five matches left this year, with four of those fixtures coming against teams ranked in the Top-25. There are still opportunities to try and turn things around, especially with additional friendlies coming up in 2026 before World Cup play begins.
While Pochettino has admitted that he is looking for positive performances during these friendlies, Adams voiced his hopes in the USMNT picking up victories too.
“I mean, I love the feeling of winning, so I would like to win games before the World Cup,” Adams said. “But I understand [Pochettino’s] thought process and we talked about it in there is you could still have good performances and not necessarily get the result. But yeah, I think at a certain time it’s important to have some results.”
The USMNT’s next opportunity to earn a win will come on Tuesday against No. 17-ranked Japan in Columbus, Ohio.