Heung-min Son had a goal and an assist against old friend Mauricio Pochettino, whose surprising United States men’s national team roster looked woeful for an hour in a 2-0 home loss to South Korea in New Jersey on Saturday.
It’s another home loss to a good opponent and raises more questions that it answers as international windows continue to close ahead of the World Cup.
MORE — How worried should we be? | USMNT vs South Korea player ratings
It’s also another loss at home that rarely felt on U.S. soil as South Korean fans were audibly up for the match.
Pochettino made a raft of changes at the hour mark and the Yanks seized control but could not find the back of the net thanks to a combination of substandard work with the final ball and some terrific saves from Hyeon-woo Jo.
The Americans finished with 18 of the game’s 23 shot attempts, but 14 came in the second half when South Korea sat back with a two-goal lead.
Pochettino’s in-game adjustments >>> Pochettino’s XI
The starting lineup wasn’t good enough to hang with South Korea, but credit Mauricio Pochettino for his adjustments both at halftime and especially with his subs around the hour mark; The Americans were much better and dominated the final 30 minutes even if the cutting edge to finish wasn’t there aside from Folarin Balogun. Now here’s another problem: Pochettino left so many quality players at home and only a couple were through injury. Maybe some unknown lessons are being learned by Weston McKennie, Haji Wright, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Joe Scally. Or maybe the manager is wasting valuable time ahead of what may well be the last home soil World Cup for at least one generation. The time for massive experimentation has to be done.
Sebastian Berhalter post-match comments
What happened? “The first half was tough. We had trouble with the overloads especially in the wide areas. Second half we made some adjustments and it helped a lot and you saw us more on the front foot. It’s a team that’s coming together. We have different pieces that are just trying to figure out how to play for each other. It’s a good first game. Obviously, we want to win the game. We’re the United States of America. We want to win everything we do. That’s disappointing.”
What went wrong? “You can tell they are a good team that have played a lot together. They know each other really well and they have quality. If you make little mistakes they’re going to punish you.”
Playing a lot under Pochettino. What’s working for you? “He’s giving me trust and that’s all I can ask for. That’s all a player needs to go out there and give 110%.”
What’s next?
The Americans host Japan on Tuesday.
How to watch USMNT vs South Korea en Espanol live: Stream link, TV channel
Kickoff: 5pm ET Saturday (Pregame coverage at 4:30pm)
Stadium: Sports Illustrated Stadium — Harrison, New Jersey
TV Channel: Telemundo, Universo
Streaming: Peacock (en Espanol)
USMNT vs South Korea final score: 0-2
Heung-min Son 18', Dong-gyeong Lee 43'
Balogun denied twice by Jo
Pulisic’s deflected shot loops to the back post.
Balogun’s smashed first bid is parried by Jo and his bounced rebound effort is also stopped by the keeper.
A lot better over the last 15 minutes
It’s probably a bit dramatic to say the subs have changed everything, but they’ve changed a lot.
The Yanks now look like they could score, and Richards and the back three look a lot more comfortable.
Balogun now has five touches in the opposition box in about 20 minutes. Only Pulisic has more of any player in the game.
USMNT sub
Berhalter out, Jack McGlynn in.
79th minute.
Pulisic wins another free kick
This one’s almost central and a lot closer to the 18. It’s shooting range and Berhalter won’t be taking this.
He swirls it over the frame.
Richards comes close
Zendejas has replaced Luna. The Yanks continue to have some luck in possession.
The Yanks get a free kick and Richards nearly jabs Berhalter’s service home but Hyeon-woo Jo makes a good save.
Zendejas wins a corner with a shot from the near post but it comes to nothing.
Entering the final 15 minutes.
Shift to a back three
Richards, Ream, and Blackmon will be in a back three with Arfsten and Freeman as wing backs.
Berhalter and Roldan compose an all-MLS midfield, with Pulisic, Luna, and Balogun in attack.
USMNT subs
Looks like the hour mark was Pochettino’s target for changes.
Weah is leaving the game for sure after a second round of on-field attention from trainers.
Dest, Sargent, and Adams also exit, with Folarin Balogun, Cristian Roldan, Chris Richards, and Alex Freeman entering the fray.
Timothy Weah injury
Weah pulls up and grabs his upper leg after hammering a shot well over the bar in the 56th minute.
USMNT free kick
Christian Pulisic uses a 1v1 chance to win a free kick 15 yards outside the box.
Sebastian Berhalter fails to clear the first defender.
No changes at the break
Dig your own way out, says Pochettino.
Halftime — USMNT 0-2 South Korea
You can see the plan and how it might work, but these USMNT players have not been sharp enough in execution.
Don’t let Pochettino off the hook because of a decent plan, though, because he called in this relatively-controversial group and they are deservedly down 2-0.
Adding insult to injury is this heavily red, pro-South Korean crowd in — checks notes — not South Korea but New Jersey.
Dong-gyeong Lee goal — USMNT 0-2 South Korea (43rd minute)
Ugly.
South Korea have used possession to stretch the width of the USMNT, and Dest is so far to the right that it just takes one bypass of Berhalter to leave Tim Ream dizzied by a 1-2.
Son is dropped by Freese but the penalty doesn’t have to be awarded because Dong-gyeong Lee has backheeled the ball and given the LAFC man an assist.
Too easy.
That back-heel finish, though 😮💨 pic.twitter.com/RYeywQXbJm
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 6, 2025
Weah manufactures shot
It’s Dest again on the right flank and his cut back is rescued by Weah, whose first touch is stolen.
Weah wins it back and forces a shot through traffic — Diego Luna has to leap out of its way — that misses the far post.
Disappointing
This isn’t about plan, desire, or fitness — the Yanks are making mistakes with the ball to short-circuit most of their possessions.
Adams has a pair of giveaways, Blackmon hit a sloppy pass to end a threatening moment in the South Korean third, and a clever diagonal pass from Berhalter was absent receiver in the 18.
South Korea lead 1-0 in the 34th minute.
Heung-min Son goal — USMNT 0-1 South Korea (18th minute)
Mauricio Pochettino’s old pal comes back to haunt him.
Son might’ve been a quarter-step offside but it was close and Tristan Blackmon can only slide into the LAFC’s path as he fires past Matt Freese.
Heung-min Son strikes to give Korea Republic the lead against the USMNT 💥
— B/R Football (@brfootball) September 6, 2025
…and against his former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino 😏 pic.twitter.com/Gh98ve6kfD
Saves at both ends
The USMNT’s high press leads to a bad giveaway, and Sebastian Berhalter snaps into a chance from 25 yards that is parried by Hyeon-woo Jo.
Play zips the other way and Freese is called upon to deny Dong-gyeong Lee.
And Dest leads another rush with a long dribble but the Yanks can’t manufacture a shot.
0-0 now into the 18th minute.
Dest an early star
Sergino Dest has been deployed at right back and limits a South Korean break to a corner kick with a good block on the end line.
He’s also led a pair of rushes up the right flank and looks quite dangerous.
Adams at heart of first flash point
Tyler Adams with a bad giveaway that leads to a South Korea breakaway, saved by Matt Freese.
The whistle had blown, apparently, and Adams breaks up the visitors’ chance from the ensuing free kick.
0-0, 4'.
Underway!
Walkout complete. Michael Bradley saluted. Anthems sung. Here we go in New Jersey.
Team news
Looks like Tristan Blackmon will partner with Tim Ream at the heart of the back line, giving Chris Richards a spot on the bench.
Everything else is pretty straight-forward, as Josh Sargent starts over Folarin Balogun after Pochettino noted that they will not push Folarin Balogun. The Monaco man has just returned from a long-term injury absence.
Sebastian Berhalter starts over Luca de la Torre.
USMNT lineup
Freese, Arfsten, Ream, Blackmon, Dest, Adams, Berhalter, Pulisic, Luna, Weah, Sargent
South Korea lineup
Jo Hyeon-woo, Han-beom Lee, Min-jae Kim, Tae-seok Lee, Ju-sung Kim, Young-woo Seol, Dong-geyong Lee, Seung-ho Paik, Jin-gyu Kim, Jae-sung Lee, Heung-min Son
USMNT vs South Korea preview
Pochettino opted against calling in a number of big-name players, as Weston McKennie again misses out and is joining in exclusion by recently-transferred USMNT stars Giovanni Reyna, Malik Tillman, and Johnny Cardoso. Just-healthy Antonee Robinson and Ricardo Pepi are also given breaks, and that gives big chances to some lesser-known names against these strong visitors.
South Korea have lost just once in the last 19 months, and it was last time out against Japan — a solid team and the Yanks’ next opponent. The Taegeuk Warriors boast an 11W-5D-1L record in that period, and national team legend Myung-bo Hong is at the wheel.
Led by Heung-min Son, South Korea (or Korea Republic) are ranked 23rd by FIFA and 34th by Elo Ratings. The Americans are 15th and 44th by the same metrics, and this match as well as the next versus Japan (17th and t-13th) are their first chances to show out against top non-CONCACAF opponents since dispiriting friendly losses to Turkiye and Switzerland in June.
And that matters. Players like Max Arfsten and Alex Freeman were very good at the Gold Cup, much better than their displays against Turkiye and Switzerland. Pochettino knows this group can do great in CONCACAF, but the World Cup’s raised stakes will be closer to the level of South Korea (and Japan) more often than not.
USMNT focus, team news
The names on Pochettino’s 24-man roster are anything but predictable, but there’s a big-time in-form player in Josh Sargent and a number of North America-based players with huge opportunities to impress the boss.
How much will we see of Nathan Harriel, Tristan Blackmon, Sean Zawadzki, and Alex Zendejas? And is there any chance we see Roman Celentano or Jonathan Klinsmann, or is this Matt Freese’s 18-yard box for the duration of the international break?
South Korea focus, team news
The team’s strength is showcased by the stiff test they’ll present despite players excluded from the squad, Wolves’ Hee-chan Hwang, and Feyenoord’s In-beom Hwang perhaps chief among them.
LAFC’s Heung-min Son and PSG’s Kang-in Lee will get a lot of the focus, but the Taegeuk Warriors are deep and dangerous. Bayern Munich center back Min-jae Kim is a handful for attackers and Mainz midfielder Jae-sung Lee is one to watch.
USMNT vs South Korea prediction
South Korea are more familiar and complete at this point, but home soil and the fitness of Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun, and Timothy Weah should be enough to produce a number of chances for the USMNT. Can they convert enough? USMNT 1-1 South Korea.
