The U.S. men's national team ended its two-game September slate on a sour note.
On the day of Mauricio Pochettino officially being hired, the U.S. played to a lowly 1-1 draw to New Zealand at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Tuesday.
Gregg Berhalter assistant Mikey Varas continued to be the interim coach after the team fell to Canada 2-1 on Saturday, with the starting lineup being changed to an old-school 4-4-2 with Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi up top and Matt Turner back in goal.
The first half was largely uninspiring and not much clear-cut chances came, with things finally opening up in the second period once Christian Pulisic came on to play left midfield.
And it was Pulisic who opened the scoring for the U.S. after replacing Haji Wright. In the 69th minute, Balogun held up the ball well just outside the penalty box before tapping it to Pulisic. Pulisic opened up with his left foot and slotted it home.
But the U.S. would concede just before the 90th minute. New Zealand sent a long ball down the field, but a poor header toward Turner by substitute left-back Caleb Wiley could not be properly cleared by Chris Richards, who took on the captain's armband.
Soccer
Instead, substitute forward Ben Waine somehow managed to lob it up and over Turner for the equalizer.
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There were eight added minutes following the 90th, and it went a little over that due to extra stops in play. But the U.S. just couldn't find the winning goal and ended September without a win.
New Zealand came into the game ranked No. 94 by FIFA as of July 18, but looked the more disciplined group far more times than the U.S. did.
Pochettino will have plenty to work with, though getting key players back like Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie and more should be a boost to the overall quality at his disposal.
The USMNT will return to the pitch in mid-October, where it will meet Panama and rivals Mexico in what should mark Pochettino's first games in charge.
