COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Hadji Wright and Cristian Roldan caught the attention of U.S. national team manager Mauricio Pochettino eight months before the World Cup.
Wright, making his first start in 13 months, scored off passes from Roldan in the 33rd and 51st minutes to give the United States their first come-from-behind victory under Pochettino. 2-1 friendly win over Australia on Tuesday night.
“When we give a player a chance, we expect it,” Pochettino said. “Haji, a player who performs like he did today, could come close. He could be involved.”
Wright, 27, plays for Coventry in England and leads the League in the Second Division Championship with eight goals. Since August, he has scored 11 goals in 13 appearances for club and country.
He scored a goal for the USA in the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup, but has not started for the USA since a friendly in September 2024 under interim manager Mikey Ballas, one month before Pochettino took over.
Wright has seven goals in 19 international appearances, but has never scored in a starting game for the United States.
Speaking about Pochettino and Coventry manager Frank Lampard, he said: “They’ve given me positions where I can prove myself and they’ve allowed me to express myself on the field.” “I’m not just stuck at number nine as a typical striker. I can move freely and I can flow freely.”
Roldan is part of the 2022 World Cup squad but was unable to play in Qatar. Last month, he returned to the national team as a late addition.a week later September members announced. He had not participated in the national team since the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July 2023.
“My wife and I kept saying we believe we can get away late and push late. Hopefully I’ll make my case,” Roldan said.
He came on as a substitute in the 62nd minute. Lost to South Korea 0-2went far 2-0 victory over Japanhe came on in the 73rd minute. 1-1 draw against Ecuador on Friday He played until the 76th game against the Socceroos.
“Pochettino has done a great job of making me feel confident and comfortable here, so I’m proud to be a part of this and hopefully be part of the next camp,” Roldan said.
Roldan, 30, has made 41 international appearances and impressed Pochettino with his play for Seattle this summer.
“We need players who are confident, who believe in themselves, who are a little arrogant, a little naughty, who hate to lose,” Pochettino said. “Maybe Cristian Roldan is an example that if you want to create a complete player, he has a little bit of everything.”
“I’m not saying he’s going to be in the next squad or that he’s going to play in the World Cup,” he added. “But at the moment, or so far, after the last camp and now, he’s a player we wanted to give a chance to. We’re giving a chance and seeing what happens.”
Pochettino also said he is thinking ahead to the 2030 World Cup cycle, even after his contract ends.
“It’s our responsibility to try to leave some kind of legacy or create a core of players who act the same way, feel the same way, respect the values and culture and everything else that we talked about. Maybe we can have a core of players who can arrive in 2030 in a different context than this World Cup,” he said.
After struggling for most of his first year, the U.S. team went undefeated in three games.
“I’m satisfied, but I wanted more,” Pochettino said. “I wanted to perform better. I wanted each individual player to perform better. But that’s in my competitive blood.”
Australia took the lead after Jordan Boss parried a throw-in, but James Sands tried to clear, but the ball spun into the penalty area. The boss took the ball to his chest, separating Roldan and Sands, then beat Chris Richards and fired the ball home with his left foot, past the outstretched left arm of Matt Frees for his second international goal.
“When you come to the World Cup, you can’t afford to concede goals like this,” Pochettino said. “In the World Cup, if you start the game like we did and concede a goal like this, it’s hard to get another chance.”
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