Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie were probably fast asleep in Italy. Several other U.S. men’s national team starters recovered from injuries. And in their absence on Tuesday night, the USMNT lost to Mexico for the first time in more than five years – in a game marked by debate over its significance.

On the one hand, it was US-Mexicothe CONCACAF Clasico, a heated rivalry and therefore a game that both sides insisted they were playing to win.

On the other hand, it was just a friendly game, a preliminary test without any concrete consequences; And so, after Saturday’s win against Panama, new US coach Mauricio Pochettino allowed Pulisic, McKennie and three others to return to their clubs.

The result was a 2-0 defeat in Zapopan, Mexico on Tuesday El Tri – and a performance that, frankly, could never lead to a win.

“It seemed like the USA didn’t want to play. It seemed like nobody wanted the ball,” former USMNT star DeMarcus Beasley said on TNT at halftime. “Nobody wants to play against Mexico in Mexico.”

And midway through the first half, Raúl Jiménez punished their sloppiness. Passive possession led to an aimless American long ball and then a foul 25 yards from goal. Jiménez curled the ensuing free kick over a US wall and past goalkeeper Matt Turner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

In front of the goal, the game was turbulent and relatively even. The hosts then took over and maintained control. The Americans couldn’t muster anything going forward – not even a single shot in the first half. (They finally scored in the 79th minute.)

And just after halftime, Mexico doubled their lead with a direct attack. Jiménez, a 33-year-old reborn star, won a duel with 37-year-old defender Tim Ream, and César Huerta beat Turner 2-0.

Traffic remained one-way for most of the remaining 40 minutes. And American frustration was simmering because previous iterations of the USMNT had I stood up for this moment. The 2012 team won at Estadio Azteca. In the next three World Cup cycles, U.S. teams traveled to Mexico City and earned one point each. They hadn’t lost in Mexico since 2009.

And in recent years they had taken control of the rivalry. The USMNT had won five of its last seven games against Mexico and drawn the other two. It won three Nations League titles in a row. For the first time ever, the USA had established itself as the undisputed king of CONCACAF.

That’s partly why eyebrows were raised when US Soccer announced Sunday that Pulisic, McKennie and Ricardo Pepi would not be traveling to Guadalajara.

But Pochettino had valid reasons in his second week at work.

McKennie felt unwell last week and reports from Italy suggest he is struggling with muscle fatigue.

Pulisic is not injured, but “he arrived a little tired,” Pochettino said on Friday. “He plays every single game, every single minute” for AC Milan – which, Pochettino said, “worried him and his staff a little bit”.

So Pochettino made the kind of decision that a coach of lesser stature might not be able to make in his first month in charge of a national team; he was playing the long game.

Pochettino stressed that “the priority will be to come to the World Cup in the best condition,” as he said at his opening press conference. And no 20-month friendly match, no matter the opponent, will have a significant impact on their condition in June 2026.

What would impact would be Pulisic’s fitness. “If we really need him, he has to be in shape, happy and strong,” Pochettino said last week. “Because he has enormous talent, he is a fantastic player.”

So he allowed Pulisic to return to Milan, a decision that not only overcomes his physical and mental strain but also creates trust between player, national team and club.

Pochettino also took off Antonee Robinson, perhaps the USMNT’s second-most reliable player, at halftime of Tuesday’s game.

After ruling McKennie out of Saturday’s game, he spoke of wanting to “protect” McKennie. “We didn’t want to take any risks,” said Pochettino.

He shouldn’t do it either.

But the result – the first loss to Mexico since a 2019 friendly, one of the early low points of the Gregg Berhalter era – was still hard to stomach.

And the performance was one of the USMNT’s worst in the last two years – especially given the state of their opponent, a sputtering Mexican team that is under pressure and in disarray.

It showed the US player pool lacks depth behind Pulisic and McKennie, as well as the injured Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards and Gio Reyna.

It was also a timely reminder – that the new boss did it despite the buzz around Pochettino a lot the work to be done.