Pochettino says pro-visitor crowd in St. Louis was `like to play in Guatemala’

ST LOUIS AP Mauricio Pochettino got a feel for what the U S men s national unit still faces at times during home games a crowd rooting for the opposition It was like to play in Guatemala the coach revealed after his band got two early goals from Diego Luna and hung on for a - win Wednesday night that advanced the Americans to the CONCACAF Gold Cup final That was good for our players because it was an atmosphere that we didn t expect The U S will play Mexico or Honduras on Sunday in Houston the Americans last competitive match before next year s World Cup A sellout crowd of at Energizer Park energized Los Chapines who outshot the U S - and got an th-minute goal from Olger Escobar That is football Pochettino commented When we say the connection in between the fans and the club that is the connection that we d like to see in the World Cup That connection that makes you fly because of the vigor that translates U S players are used to chosen home matches where the promotion is overwhelmingly for the opponent We re a country full of immigrants so it was kind of expected for tonight defender Chris Richards mentioned It was good for certain of the younger guys to kind of experience that tonight but for us experienced guys we went through World Cup qualifiers with the exact same stuff so I think that was a good lesson that the association needed to learn An Argentine who played for his nation times Pochettino comes from a society where soccer dominates life I saw participant of the Guatemala crying he explained That is the way that we need to feel and our fans need to feel the same It s not to come here and to enjoy f the spectacle and if you lose nothing happens Yes it happens a lot Things happen because you play for your pride you play for numerous countless things that I think I cannot tell you tonight But I think it s good for our players I came from Argentina and in Argentina it s not the same win or lose The consequences are massive The rest of the opponents and the different countries he added you play for survival you play for food you play for pride you play for numerous things It s not to go and enjoy and go home and laugh and that s it Luna has proved the hunger Pochettino wants The -year-old impressed the coach when he continued playing with a broken nose during a January friendly against Costa Rica in which the Americans used a B crew after training sessions with mostly Major League Soccer players that various fans nicknamed Camp Cupcake He s become a regular in the Gold Cup and has three goals in his last two games Diego was the example from January how he is desperate to play for this shirt for the national crew and that is why now he is in the level that he evidenced Pochettino explained Striker Patrick Agyemang also has emerged from January camp to gain a starting berth at the Gold Cup where various regulars are absent Sometimes you say it s useless people say it s useless Pochettino explained of the January camp It s not useless I think it s fundamental central for the national band significant for the club and very significant for the country Luna scored in the fourth and th minutes the first with his left foot and the second with his right I loved it It was awesome man he disclosed of the setting That s what every tournament should be like and I think that the Guatemalans should be very proud of the fan base that they have and the vitality they bring Defender Tim Ream who captained the U S in his hometown noted positive results will grow the fanbase None of it s going to happen unless we win unless we continue to win he declared For us what s the hallmark of a U S company It s fighting and togetherness That s what we re finding and doing in this tournament And it s not dependably going to be perfect It s not going to reliably be pretty but doing that fosters that connection with the fans with the diehards with the casuals with everybody And as long as we continue to do that then that custom grows the feelings grow and the connections grow AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source