It was ugly, tense, and frustrating, but the United States secured a 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Austin on Thursday night to lock down a spot in the 2025 Gold Cup quarterfinals.
It's the 18th-consecutive trip to the Gold Cup knockout rounds for the USMNT, who continue to do just enough to get the job done.
The XI
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino made no changes to the lineup that beat Trinidad & Tobago, but did bring back Tyler Adams, Johnny Cardoso and Damion Downs into the matchday squad.
USMNT 🇺🇸 Starting XI vs Saudi Arabia 🇸🇦 Freese; Arfsten, Ream ©, Richards, Freeman; Berhalter, de la Torre; Luna, Tillman, McGlynn; Agyemang BENCH: Turner, Tolkin, Adams, Zimmerman, Sullivan, Downs, B.Aaronson, Robinson, Cardoso, P.Aaronson, McKenzie, White
— SixOneFive Soccer (@sixonefivesoccer.com) 2025-06-20T00:01:32.210Z
On the pitch
Against an opponent who set out with the sole goal of making life difficult, the US struggled to create consistent chances or even get the ball in dangerous spots.
With Pochettino insistent on building out in a 3-2-5 shape, the first half was a slog of trying to advance the ball with players in less-than-optimal positions. Alex Freeman struggled positionally as a right center back, while Max Arfsten seemed to be the focal point of the attack in the first half, hugging the touchline to an extreme extent and finding himself isolated.
At halftime, Pochettino changed things up. Freeman pushed forward into a more natural wingback spot, allowing Jack McGlynn to become more involved from a central area while Sebastian Berhalter dropped into the backline in possession. The result was a much more cohesive look on the ball.
After putting a close-range header straight at the goalkeeper minutes before, Chris Richards found the winner with 30 minutes left to play. The FA Cup winner got on the end of a fantastic set-piece delivery from Berhalter, volleying home with his left foot to put the United States through to the quarterfinals.
What a ball from Berhalter.
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) June 20, 2025
What a finish by Richards.pic.twitter.com/gKSz2CcFiV
The big picture
It wasn't a beautiful win by any stretch, but the USMNT did enough to get out of the group. Pochettino stuck with an underperforming system in the first half, but the tweaks and substitutions he made in the second half significantly improced the product on the pitch.
Damion Downs changed the match off the bench with some fantastic runs in behind to open things up, while Tyler Adams made a welcome return from injury. Adams is a write-in-pen starter when healthy and will play a significant role during the rest of the tournament, but Downs could be a wildcard as Pochettino still works to figure out his most effective lineup.
Up next
With a spot in the quarterfinals already nailed down, the US will likely rotate for their final group stage match against Haiti. That game will take place on Sunday, June 22, at 6 pm CT from Dallas's AT&T Stadium.
Stats
Possession: SKI 33% – 67% USA
Passes completed: KSI 202 – 469 USA
Shots: KSI 3 – 5 USA
Shots on goal: KSI 1 – 3 USA
Penalty kicks: KSI 0 – 0 USA
Goals: KSI 0 – 1 USA
Expected goals: KSI 0.60 – 1.10 USA
Fouls: KSI 7 – 10 USA
Yellow cards: KSI 1 – 2 USA
Red cards: KSI 0 – 0 USA
Announced attendance:
