After Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup Final, United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino had some choice words for the officials over a controversial no-call.
Pochettino was asked about a missed handball in the second half and made it clear that he felt a penalty should have been called.
“I’m not going to cry. I want to tell the truth. And the truth is if that happened in the opposite half, in the other box, for sure it’s a penalty,” Pochettino told reporters.
The USMNT started the game with early momentum after Christian Walker headed in a cross from Sebastian Berhalter in the fourth minute for a quick 1-0 lead. However, it didn’t take long for things to fall apart.
Mexico’s Raúl Jiménez knotted things up in the 27th minute. The no-call in the second half created another sour moment as USMNT struggled to get back on the attack.
“He (Mexican defender Jorge Sánchez) put his hand over the ball. It’s not that the hand was on the floor and the ball touched it,” Pochettino added.
Mexico went ahead in the 77th minute when Edson Álvarez converted a diving header off a set piece from Johan Vásquez. The goal was initially ruled offside before it was overturned following a video review.
USMNT was limited to just six shot attempts, three of which were on goal. Mexico had eight of its 16 attempts reach the target and also had 12 corner kicks to USMNT’s zero.
The win gave Mexico a record 10th Concacaf Gold Cup title. The team is now 6-2 against the USMNT in Gold Cup finals.