Pochettino: I fear Australia’s arrows… and facing Turkey taught us

Confirm Mauricio Pochettino, US national team coachHis team is very wary of the mentality and hostility typical of the Australian team, in addition to the great speed he possesses in attack to move quickly from defense to attack.

Team America will look to make it two consecutive World Cup victories for just the second time in its history when it takes on Australia at Lumen Field on Friday.

The American team has never won back-to-back except in the inaugural World Cup in 1930, when they beat Belgium and Paraguay in the group stage, and victory in Friday’s game guarantees a place in the knockout stages.

Pochettino is fully aware of the magnitude of the challenge facing the American team in its attempt to defeat Australia, which managed to beat Turkey with two unanswered goals in its opening game.

Pochettino said: At the press conference of the meeting“They are very aggressive and have great organization. We saw how Turkey struggled to create chances, especially clean sheets. The moment they get the ball back, they have players like arrows and they exchange at a tremendous pace.”

Pochettino expressed his great appreciation for the mentality that coach Tony Popovich has instilled in the ranks of the Australian national team.

Pochettino added: “For me, it’s about the mentality, the coach’s mindset. I have talked to him, I appreciate him a lot and I really love him. I can see they’ve built a great mentality and it’s hard to play against a team that really believes in what they’re doing.”

The Americans’ pressing style was very effective in the 4-1 win over Paraguay, allowing the team to win the ball back in advanced areas of the field and largely preventing the opposition from launching counterattacks. However, the Australian team that the United States will face on Friday has plenty of speed to capitalize on attacking transition opportunities, with players who pose a big threat in open spaces like Jordan Bos, Nestori Irankonda and Mohamed Toure.

Questions have been raised about striker Christian Pulisic’s readiness to participate, showing how much America will rely on a high-pressing option against Australia, but Pochettino stressed his team will look to play to their strengths.

“I think we were good in pressing Paraguay, but also good in how we build the game from the back and probably dropping back to defend late. I think we were good in all areas of the pitch and that’s how we understand football. We will try to press, but we know that sometimes they try to play long balls.”

He concluded. “This is different from just sending random long balls. I say this with all due respect because they know what they are doing when they play long passes.”