Mauricio Pochettino's Lineup Changes Spell 'Borderline Panic' For USA

Alexi Lalas isn't hitting the panic button on the United States men's national team's chances of making it out of Group D at the 2026 World Cup, but he is concerned about manager Mauricio Pochettino's process following its 0-2 showing during its latest stage of friendlies. 

Following the USA's 2-0 loss to Portugal on Tuesday, Lalas questioned why Pochettino has continued to mess around with the squad's formation with the World Cup just over two months away. 

"We're not fooling anybody. We're not sneaking up on anybody with the way we're playing," Lalas said on the latest episode of "State of the Union." "If Pochettino honestly believes playing four is better for this team and is the primary way we're going to play, even though we're going to come out as three, that's fine. That's OK. I want some consistency. From the outside, I want some consistency."

Prior to the losses to Belgium and Portugal over the last week, the United States had largely deployed a 3-4-2-1 formation in its recent matches. However, it appeared to use a 4-2-3-1 formation as it was outscored, 7-2, in the last two friendlies, showing signs of weakness on the defensive end. 

But that wasn't the only notable change Pochettino made during one of the friendlies. He gave Matt Turner his first start in net in nearly a year during Saturday's friendly against Belgium. Turner allowed five goals in that match, leading some to wonder why he was even out there in the first place, considering how well Matt Freese has played as of late. 

For Lalas, Pochettino's constant tinkering during important friendlies sent a reminder of a bad World Cup memory, and he is worried that Pochettino might be walking down the same path. 

"I remember back in ‘98 when we changed to the 3-6-1, and everyone kind of looked around under Steve Sampson — and he might believe that’s the way we should've gone, and it's oftentimes associated to a game or a moment when things go great like and it's like, ‘Ah, this is great. This is how we should’ve been playing all the time,'" Lalas said. "That's very, very dangerous to do, especially as you get closer to the World Cup. This window, I went back to scratching my head more when it came to Mauricio Pochettino because of the experimentation."

FOX Sports soccer studio host Rob Stone not only shared the same concerns as Lalas, but he also wondered if Pochettino's squad might put itself in a hole if what he does works in the United States' friendlies against Senegal and Germany. 

"It's a sign to me of borderline panic. What's working is not working. My best-laid plans are not happening right now, and I need to figure something out because clearly things aren't happening," Stone said. "I don't know where the US is going to get any confidence before they take on Paraguay. Like, two real good quality tests in May and June. If something works in one of those two games, all of a sudden, we're putting chips over there like, ‘Here we go. This is now what we’ve got to do.' That worries me."

Still, Lalas is bullish about the United States advancing out of its group. Türkiye, which beat the United States in a friendly last year, completed its impressive run to qualify for the World Cup and join the United States in Group D on Tuesday, but Lalas thinks the overall talent in the group should allow the Americans to advance to the knockout stage.

"Not for me. I'm not happy about this window, and I would've liked to have been more confident coming out of this window. I would put this group against any other group in the past in terms of not just coming out, but winning the group. I do think this team, despite the problems we're talking about right now, will rise to the occasion. I'm not in a worse place after this window. Of course, I'm disappointed and concerned. But I don't think [the USA] has regressed."