The U.S. lost their third straight match, falling to Turkey in a game defined by two mishaps, not a lack of intensity

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. – In the moments following the U.S. men's national team's loss to Turkey, coach Mauricio Pochettino was, generally, pretty happy. The soccer? Good. The energy? Good. The mistakes? Definitely bad but, after spending the spring discussing mentality and intensity, Pochettino was admittedly relieved to get the chance to break down the game on the field.

"I am just so glad we're talking about soccer," Pochettino said.

On Saturday, the soccer wasn't perfect. When you lose 2-1 to Turkey, it's not perfect. Two defensive breakdowns cost the U.S., squandering an early Jack McGlynn stunner. Johnny Cardoso's giveaway and a disastrous series of clearances doomed the U.S., but, those were soccer mistakes, not effort issues.

This was a new beginning, of sorts. A rough one, but a beginning nonetheless. Several individuals got off to inauspicious starts, namely Cardoso, who will have plenty of questions to answer because of it. There were standouts, too, players who made their own Gold Cup cases.

Tuesday will represent another chance in another friendly against another good team, Switzerland, who rolled past Mexico 4-2 on Saturday. Pochettino is glad a tone has been set, despite the loss.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Pratt & Whitney Stadium.

Getty ImagesLOSER: Johnny Cardoso

You know that narrative about Cardoso's performances in a USMNT shirt? It's not going to be silenced by giving away a goal in your own box.

That's what Cardoso did midway through the first half, directly handing Turkey their equalizing goal and McGlynn had give the U.S. the lead in the first minute of the game.

It was a simple one, really: Cardoso got a bit too comfortable on the ball, allowing Turkish prodigy Arda Guler to slide in and poke it right into the back of the net. It was so completely avoidable, and so completely out of character for the version of Cardoso everyone saw at Real Betis this season.

That remains the problem with Cardoso: that version of him has never shown up to USMNT camp. Often error-prone and seemingly never confident, Cardoso looks like a completely different player when he plays for the U.S., like one who had Space Jam's Monstars steal away whatever good vibes he has over in Spain.

And so the narrative continues. Cardoso will need to silence it by the end of this summer. Fortunately, there's still plenty of time. This was a tough start, though, one that will only make the criticism grow louder around a player that has done little to really quiet it.

"He's a top, top player in his position," said Adams as he backed his teammate to recover going forward. "He's played in so many big games now and obviously, had a great season with Betis as well. You have those moments in your career, and sometimes it feels like the world's going against you. He's a top pro.

"The way that he trains every single day, the way that he brings his mentality every single day, he'll make a turn, and it will be fine. He's going to be an important player for us."

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWINNER: Jack McGlynn

The scouting report is out there: McGlynn has a world-class left foot. Don't let him onto it. When he does hit the ball with that foot, it ends up going exactly where he wants it to go.

That's what happened just 60 seconds into Saturday's match. Turkey let McGlynn cut in and that left foot did the rest, curling home what might end up being the goal of this USMNT summer.

goal is his second this year for the USMNT, his first being another stunner back in January camp. It's pretty clear that McGlynn has these moments in him and, by creating one early against Turkey, he proved he can do it at a much higher level. This wasn't a January camp game; this was a good matchup against a good team, and McGlynn was still able to do his thing.

In MLS, McGlynn has played higher up, allowing him to use that left-foot to create closer to the goal. It's been a big change from his time in Philadelphia, where he generally played as a deep-lying midfielder.

"I think he can be a great midfielder," Pochettino said after the game. "He can maybe start outside for now in a position like a winger but, when he has the ball at his feet, everyone can rest a bit. I can rest a bit because I really trust him to make the play. His teammates rely on him and trust him with the ball.

"He needs to improve in other games to be a player to reach the highest level, but we work with him. His evolution isn't in the position he was in today. I think it's more inside, like an eight or a 10."

If Saturday was any indication, the USMNT will want him as close to goal as possible because, once he gets there, he has the ability to strike in ways most players can't.

Getty Images SportWINNER: Tyler Adams

Of the USMNT's go-to, locked in, A-tier players, Chris Richards was the only one in Saturday's the starting XI. He was joined by Adams in the second half and, from the moment the 2022 World Cup captain took the field, it was impossible not to notice the pure quality he brings to the team.

This isn't even a Cardoso-Adams comparison – realistically, there is no comparison there. Adams is a level above just about everyone in this USMNT player pool, and it's never more apparent than in games like these. As always, Adams was a menace in defense, helping the U.S. seize back control after surviving a Turkey tidal wave in the first half.

"Even today, coach told me I wasn't going to play, and I just wanted to set the example with a positive attitude" he said, "and just make sure these guys are ready to go. Again, they showed it today."

He added value in the attacking half, too, setting up Malik Tillman for a close-range header that could have been – and probably should have been – a goal.

"I tell all the guys, when you put this jersey on, we go to war for each other," he said. "That's what the U.S. is built off of and that's why we're special. I think our talent starts to speak for ourselves now. We have guys playing at a very high level.

"But it doesn't really mean anything when you come into an international football setting because it all about the collective and how you're able to bunker down and win games. It's about setting the standard in training and making sure we're ready to go."

The USMNT will need Adams in the Gold Cup. He's the only truly elite player in this squad right now and, for this team to have a chance, Adams will need to be the lynchpin that makes it all happen.

Getty ImagesLOSER: USMNT width

As constructed, the USMNT roster doesn't have a great deal of pace out wide. There's no altering that or changing it; it's the way things are. Pocehttino, though, is trying to find ways to make that width work and, while it worked at times, there were moments where it didn't.

With McGlynn generally playing out wide on the right, Max Arfsten provided most of the width on the left. McGlynn's mandate, meanwhile, was to cut in, leaving Max Arfsten as the only one really stretching the field out wide. Because of that, Turkey often packed the middle, knowing that the U.S. didn't have the wide pace to beat them out there.

"The gameplan was to have Diego [Luna] going inside very close with Malik [Tillman]," Pochettino said. "Luca de la Torre and Johnny stayed inside, and then Jack was a little bit on the side but cut inside the way he scored the goal. I wanted him to have the freedom on the one side, and the idea was to use Max and Alex [Freeman] to stay a little bit more wide.

"That was the idea. It's all new, and we only trained for a few days. Then you go against a team like Turkey."

Turkey had the quality to play through the middle. Not every team will. Still, as this Gold Cup beckons, the U.S. will need to find ways to spread out the field if they are to break teams down.