Pochettino always knows how to bring out Son Heung-min's maximum. Mocking after the complete defeat against Korea → 278 days before WC increases pressure on hard work

Sep 07, 2025

Son Heung-min and Mauricio Pochettino, the coach of the U.S. national team, shared a warm hug ahead of the U.S.-Korea match on the 7th. Photo courtesy = Korea Football Association

Son Heung-min, who scored one goal and one assist against Pochettino. They performed a click ceremony in New York.Relay Screen

Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of the U.S. national team, lost six games against a team in the top 30 FIFA rankings after taking office. Is Pochettino ready to take over the World Cup?US Broadcasting Corporation is asking 'CBS Sports'

The pressure to replace Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach of the U.S. national soccer team, who suffered from Son Heung-min (LAFC), a student of Tottenham, seems to be on the rise.

The U.S. lost 0-2 to Son Heung-min (Kim Chun) in the first half of the September A match against the South Korean national soccer team at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey, on the 7th (Korea time).

The U.S. sports magazine 「Sports Illustrated」 pointed out that Pochettino lost for the seventh time in 17 A matches. The U.S. broadcaster 'CBS Sports' introduced the record of the U.S. losing 1-7 against teams in the top 30 FIFA rankings under Pochettino. South Korea is currently 23rd in FIFA rankings and the U.S. is 15th.

The British daily `The Sun" criticized the United States for once again showing a 'lost life' performance after losing to Mexico 1-2 in the gold cup final in July and missing the championship. Numerous U.S. media are also raising their voices on how sluggish the U.S. has been throughout the 90 minutes.

photo courtesy of the Korea Football Association

'The Sun' is 'The United States honored the great captain Michael Bradley before the game. However, the U.S. national team said it was incomparable to Bradley's days as a coach, adding that the U.S. continued its poor performance under Pochettino.

Even though the game was held in New Jersey on this day, there was a feeling of playing in the middle of Seoul. There were far more Korean fans than American fans in the sold-out stands, and (Korean fans) showed their existence with constant deafening shouts. South Korea began to put pressure on the U.S. from the beginning,' he said.

In the 18th minute of the first half, Son Heung-min, who received Lee Jae-sung's pass, scored the first goal, and Lee Dong-kyung, who received Son Heung-min's assist, scored an additional goal in the 43rd minute. In the second half, he failed to score due to South Korean goalkeeper Cho Hyun-woo's save in the relay.

The Sun said the game was virtually over in the first half, and the United States played reckless and ruleless football 10 minutes before the end of the game. Fouls were committed all over the field.

Former coach Jurgen Klinsmann (above the picture) intuitively watched the U.S.-Korea match. Son Jonathan Klinsmann was selected for the U.S. list, but did not play on the day.

Clint Dempsey, a former U.S. national team striker who played for the English Premier League club Fulham, appeared on the biggest U.S. soccer broadcaster `Man In Blazers" and expressed his devastating feeling `I'm speechless.'

Roger Bennett, the host of the `Man In Blazers" sarcastically said, `Pochettino always knows how to bring out Sonny (Son Heung-min)." Pochettino raised Son Heung-min to the highest level of goalscorer in the English Premier League (EPL) at Tottenham. Son Heung-min shot his 52nd A-match goal after breaking his silence for 10 months and 3 consecutive games since the match against Palestine (1-1 draw) in November 2024.

Charlie Davis, a retired broadcaster and former U.S. striker, told CBS Sports"Pochettino's America is not taking a step forward. It's so disappointing."

Former U.S. goalkeeper Tony Miola also said on the same show, `We wasted our chances against the World Cup finals" bemoaned. On its official Twitter account, `CBS Sports' posted doubts about whether Pochettino is the right leader to lead the World Cup finals.

Pochettino has been criticized locally for not only losing against teams such as Switzerland, Mexico and South Korea, but also not expressing a clear position on the controversy over the transfer of ace Christian Pulisic (AC Milan).

Pulisic was included in the list of two consecutive games against South Korea and Japan after missing the important Gold Cup for the U.S. because he focused on his team's preseason. Pochettino said "It's a story that's already gone. I didn't have a separate conversation about this with the player," he said, but Landon Donovan accused Pochettino of the wrong way he handled the player.

In addition, Pochettino commented on the small number of home spectators, saying, `We need the same heat as a college competition.' Criticism is mounting that the audience is looking for the cause of the poor performance. After leaving Tottenham in 2019, Pochettino took charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and the United States, and has been on the verge of failure one after another.

Pochettino, who is on a beleaguered side, is scheduled to play his second A-match warm-up match against Japan in September on the 10th. If it loses to Japan, it will inevitably increase the possibility of being replaced with nine months left before the World Cup finals.

This article was translated by Naver AI translator.