Mauricio Pochettino insisted the United States’ comeback against Australia was no coincidence as there were signs of improvement within the group.
Pochettino watched as goals in either half from Coventry City’s Haji Wright canceled out Jordan Bos’ opener in the 19th minute to seal a 2-1 victory in an international friendly.
Indeed, it was the first time since the former Tottenham boss took charge of the USMNT in September 2024 that they have come from behind to win a match.
Bos opened the scoring after bundling his way past two American defenders before firing a left-footed finish past Matt Freese into the bottom right corner.
However, parity was restored by Wright in the 33rd minute after collecting Cristian Roldan’s pass behind the Australian defense before poking the ball past Matt Ryan.
And six minutes after the restart the pair came together again for the winner, with Wright curling home a fine effort after racing through to Roldan’s quick free-kick from the right.
However, the US had to work for their victory, bringing their expected goals (xG) total to 0.99 slightly to Australia’s 0.75, but Pochettino was delighted with the mentality his team showed as they continued their preparations for next year’s World Cup.
“It’s not a coincidence,” Pochettino said of the comeback. “The good and the not so good, and it’s no coincidence that we have this ability to believe, to say, ‘We have to trust ourselves, it’s in our mind, it’s in our brain, it’s in our heart, it’s in our blood.’
“I think things like this are sometimes hard to explain how that magic happens, but this will pass [the] work every day.
“Every time we work together, we have to plant the seed and become very consistent in our decisions in the way we communicate and in the way the message gets through to the team, to the staff, to everyone.”
THAT’S A VICTORY IN COMMERCE CITY!#USMNT X @AmericanAir pic.twitter.com/ue32ZdiD5n
— United States Men’s National Soccer Team (@USMNT) October 15, 2025
The USMNT has now won eight of the nine games (88.9%) they have played in Colorado, the highest winning percentage in a state in which they have played five or more times.
Wright, meanwhile, became only the second American player in more than nine years to score multiple goals in a match against a non-CONCACAF team, the last of which was Giovanni Reyna against Ghana in 2023.
It has been an impressive start to the season for Wright, who tops the Championship scoring charts after scoring eight goals in nine games for Coventry, who sit top of the second tier with one point.
Wright grabbed his starting opportunity with both hands, with Pochettino opting to insert him into his line-up in place of Folarin Balogun, who came on in the 64th minute.
“I think it’s important to say: ‘I’m here and I want to play. I want to be part of the team,'” Pochettino added.
“I think it is certain that a player who can perform like today, Haji, can almost be involved [in the World Cup].”
“The last few seasons of my career I’ve been dealing with little niggling injuries, and it’s been difficult to play without pain,” Wright added.
“This is the first season in a few years in which I have played completely pain-free, so it feels good to be able to show what I can do.”
2 – Haji Wright is second #USMNT player in over nine years who scored multiple goals in a match against a team from outside Concacaf (Giovanni Reyna vs. Ghana in 2023). Expand. pic.twitter.com/w7qBMk6kKM
— OptaJack (@OptaJack) October 15, 2025
The only hiccup on an impressive day for Pochettino’s side was an injury to captain Christian Pulisic, who was replaced by Diego Luna in the 31st minute.
Pulisic had already faced a number of tough challenges before being taken down on the counter-attack by Jason Geria, with the AC Milan midfielder unable to continue.
“[Pulisic] feels something in his hamstring,” Pochettino said. “Tomorrow he will fly to Italy. Tonight we will reassess. We can’t say [anything else].”
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