United States 5-1 Uruguay: Pochettino's side run riot in friendly thrashing
The United States ended 2025 on a high note as four first-half goals helped them on their way to an emphatic victory over Uruguay.
The United States delivered arguably their most dominant display under Mauricio Pochettino as they thumped 10-man Uruguay 5-1 in a friendly at Raymond James Stadium.
Pochettino's side ran riot in the first half with four goals in 25 minutes, with Uruguay seeing captain Rodrigo Bentancur sent off just after the hour for a second bookable offence.
Sebastian Berhalter opened the scoring in the 17th minute after playing a short one-two with Sergino Dest from a free-kick before sensationally picking out the top-right corner.
The USMNT doubled their lead three minutes later with Berhalter involved again, with his inswinging corner towards the back post met by the head of Alexander Freeman.
Freeman then bagged his brace after his brilliant driving run from the right-hand side ended with a fierce finish beyond Cristopher Fiermarin at his near post in the 31st minute.
And three minutes before half-time, Diego Luna grabbed the hosts' fourth of the match when he tucked Timothy Tillman's scuffed pull-back into the bottom-left corner of the net.
Though Giorgian de Arrascaeta's exquisite bicycle kick reduced the arrears in first-half stoppage time, Uruguay's hopes of getting back into the game were quickly extinguished in the 64th minute when Bentancur was given his marching orders for a high challenge on Berhalter.
Tanner Tessmann made that man advantage count four minutes later, flicking Giovanni Reyna's cross home to complete an emphatic display by the World Cup co-hosts.
Data Debrief: Party in the USA
After a mixed start to life with the USMNT, Pochettino has gone five games unbeaten at just the right time with the World Cup on the horizon, though his team were only able to muster up an expected goals (xG) total of 0.74 from their 10 shots.
However, that does not take away from his team's impressive performance, with the USMNT scoring five goals against a team outside of CONCACAF for the fifth time in their history, and the first since a 5-1 triumph over Scotland in May 2012.
And following their victory over Paraguay last week, it marked the first time that the United States won back-to-back matches against CONMEBOL teams since March and May 2018, while it was the first within a single window since June 2016.
But the foundations were laid by their first-half blitz. Indeed, the USMNT netted four goals in the first 45 minutes of a match for the 11th time since 1970 and the second against a team outside of CONCACAF (Ghana in 2023).
