(Reuters) -The United States came up short in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on Sunday with a 2-1 loss to Mexico but will take valuable lessons from the tournament as they build towards next year’s World Cup, coach Mauricio Pochettino said.
The U.S. went ahead early in the game in Houston, Texas through Chris Richards’s header but Mexico fought back through Raul Jimenez and Edson Alvarez to claim a 10th Gold Cup title.
Pochettino told reporters that while it had been a painful night for his side the tournament had been excellent preparation for the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Mexico and Canada.
“It was a massive lesson for us. It was an amazing tournament to realize in the way that we wanted to grow,” he added.
“This is the way that I think we are going to find the way to compete better and better, and be very competitive and be in the place that we wanted to be.
“When you lose a trophy or you lose a game it’s really, really painful. But the most important thing is to have our head up because I think the tournament was fantastic and we keep going, that is the way we want to build our journey into the World Cup.”
The U.S. reached the final despite missing several key players, with Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah controversially opting out while Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna and Tim Weah were unable to play due to Club World Cup obligations.
However, Pochettino did not want to discuss the impact the absences had.
“I think the roster that we build is the roster that deserved to be here, and I think now is not the point to talk about the player that should be here or not,” he said.
The U.S. will next host South Korea and Japan in friendly matches in September.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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