Should the USMNT be concerned about Pulisic’s goal drought?

ATLANTA — On the day before the United States men’s national team’s 2-0 loss to Portugal, head coach Mauricio Pochettino mentioned that he might elect to make some tactical tweaks to help star attacker Christian Pulisic end a long scoring drought and build back some lost confidence.

“Maybe we help a little bit to [get him] a little bit more closer to the goal,” he said.

The coach was speaking literally. Pulisic started up front as a center forward on Tuesday and found familiar cohorts in Weston McKennie and Tim Weah feeding him the ball. He received more passes than any other U.S. attacker in the first half and attempted seven ground duels, the most on the team. But he won only one of those duels, and although he forced a couple of saves from Portugal keeper José Sá, he was indeed held scoreless once again.

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It was Pulisic’s eighth consecutive national team match without a goal, the longest drought of his career, and by the time he gets another opportunity, at least 18 months will have gone by since his last U.S. goal. Increasingly frustrated as the first half went on, the AC Milan star committed a couple of fouls and received a yellow card before halftime. He was subbed out after 45 minutes.

“We were able to create chances, which if I finish chances, which I know I’m going to, then things are going to be a bit different,” Pulisic said after the game.

Pulisic’s struggles — plus a 37th-minute Portugal goal after a turnover by McKennie and a perfect passing sequence from Vitinha to Bruno Fernandes to Francisco Trincão — overshadowed another solid first-half performance in which the U.S. attempted eight shots to Portugal’s three and generated 0.45 xG to Portugal’s 0.26. The U.S. had seen more touches in the box, too.

Neither team had started its entire first-choice lineup, but in the second half Portugal’s extreme depth advantage showed. While Patrick Agyemang (Derby County), Tanner Tessmann (Lyon) and Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew) subbed on for the U.S., Portugal coach Roberto Martinez was able to bring in Nuno Mendes (Paris Saint-Germain), Matheus Nunes (Manchester City), João Félix (Al Nassr), and Francisco Conceição (Juventus), among others.

Mendes, one of the best left backs in the world, was quickly able to test Alex Freeman down the Americans’ right side and, after Freeman conceded a corner, a wide-open João Félix slammed in Portugal’s second goal — both assisted by Fernandes — in the 59th minute. At that point, the match was effectively over.

The March international window before a World Cup is a particularly odd one. The U.S. scheduled a couple of heavyweights in Belgium and Portugal, knowing that the results would hold massive weight on perceptions and narratives heading into the summer. It’s safe to say that two losses by a combined 7-2 will certainly define discussions over the next few weeks.

At the same time, there’s a reason Portugal boss Martinez called team assessments in March “worthless” earlier in the week. With a number of prospective World Cup starters still out with minor injuries and a number of roster spots still up for grabs, however, Pochettino needed further impressions from a lot of the 24 players who saw the field over the two matches. What did he see?

• Malik Tillman created five chances in 138 minutes while splitting time in a central attacking midfield role (against Belgium) and on the left wing (against Portugal). He created only two shot attempts for himself, however, putting one on goal.

• McKennie scored from a set piece against Belgium and found another great chance early against Portugal, sending it wide. He wasn’t as sharp in the second match, and his turnover near midfield sent Portugal off toward their first goal.

• Defender Auston Trusty played almost the entire match against Portugal and won five of seven duels. He was mostly stable out of possession, though you could make the case that he dropped back far too low on Portugal’s first goal, giving Trincão space to fire off an open shot.

• After struggling at right back against Jérémy Doku and Belgium, Weah was the team’s most dangerous attacker against Portugal, making six progressive carries (the most on the team) and sending in a pair of dangerous crosses.

• Aidan Morris and Sebastian Berhalter were given massive opportunities, starting against a dynamite Portuguese midfield. Morris, one of the best duel winners in the player pool, won a pair of duels and made seven defensive interventions, and each player completed four progressive passes.

• Freeman played 79 minutes on Tuesday and won four of seven duels, though he very much had his hands full with Nunes in the second half.

• Agyemang was mostly quiet against Portugal but was a lone bright spot against Belgium, scoring late.

For now, however, the biggest impression comes from Pulisic. The 27-year-old has now gone 14 matches for club and country without a goal, his longest drought since 2022.

“Physically I feel really good, feel really sharp and I’m doing a lot of good things,” Pulisic said. “I have to help my team to create assists and score goals and create chances. Obviously when I don’t do that it’s frustrating, but I feel like I’m close and I feel good things are coming.”

He will now return to Milan as they attempt to push up from second place in Serie A.

That’s two teams counting on his return to form.