Pochettino Says 63,636 Crowd Finally Ignites U.S. World Cup Buzz After 2-1 Germany Loss
Updated
Updated · ESPN · Jun 7
Pochettino Says 63,636 Crowd Finally Ignites U.S. World Cup Buzz After 2-1 Germany Loss
2 articles · Updated · ESPN · Jun 7
Summary
63,636 fans packed Soldier Field for the United States' 2-1 loss to Germany, and Mauricio Pochettino said the atmosphere finally matched the World Cup excitement he had expected to build.
57,741 also turned out for the U.S. win over Senegal days earlier, a sharp jump from recent years when only one non-doubleheader match topped 35,000 and 12 of 16 drew fewer than 21,000.
On the field, the U.S. fell behind to Kai Havertz in the second minute, leveled before halftime through Antonee Robinson, then lost on Leroy Sane's 57th-minute goal.
Pochettino said the more encouraging sign was the response: from the third minute through the 56th, the Americans outshot Germany 11-7 and generated 0.8 expected goals to 0.43.
That blend of stronger support and a competitive showing sends the co-hosts into their World Cup opener against Paraguay on Friday at SoFi Stadium.