Mauricio Pochettino rips officials after controversial handball no-call in USMNT's Gold Cup final loss to Mexico
The controversial play occurred in the second half of the match with the United States and Mexico even at one when defender Luis Sánchez made a play on American midfielder Max Arfsten.
Sanchez's hand landed clearly on the ball.
Advertisement
But the play wasn't called a handball after match official Mario Alberto Escobar Toca turned to the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), ruling that it was an incidental handball and the United States wouldn't get a penalty call in their favor.
The decision didn't sit well with Pochettino, who sounded off after the match at NRG Stadium.
Advertisement
'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,' the USMNT coach told reporters.
He added: 'He [Mexican defender Sánchez] put his hand over the ball. It's not that the hand was on the floor and the ball touched it.'
3 Luis Sánchez hits the ball with his hand during the Mexico-USMNT match on July 6, 2025.
X / @FOXSoccer
3 Luis Sánchez hits the ball with his hand during the Mexico-USMNT match on July 6, 2025.
Advertisement
Pochettino was likely talking about the rule that states a handball occurs when a player 'touches the ball with their hand/arm when it has made their body unnaturally bigger.'
The moment became a crucial point in the match as the United States could have been in a position to take a lead in the second half.
Instead, Edson Álvarez went on to score the game-winning goal in the 77th minute when he headed the ball past U.S. keeper Matt Freese.
3 Mauricio Pochettino looks on during the USMNT-Mexico match on July 6, 2025.
Getty Images
Advertisement
The goal had originally been called offside, but after video review, it was determined to be a good goal.
Chris Richards scored the United States' first and only goal of the night four minutes into the match and Raúl Jiménez scored the equalizer in the 27th minute.
Mexico won its second consecutive Gold Cup title and its 10th all-time, while moving to 6-2 against the United States in the tournament final.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Associated Press
21 minutes ago
- Associated Press
Wimbledon: Ben Shelton beats Sonego again to reach the quarterfinals with his sister still around
LONDON (AP) — Ben Shelton reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal — doing a round better than his father-turned coach, Bryan, did in 1994 — by beating Lorenzo Sonego 3-6, 6-1, 7-6 (1), 7-5 on Monday. Shelton, a 22-year-old American who won the 2022 NCAA singles title for the University of Florida, improved to 3-0 against Italy's Sonego in Grand Slam action this season. It's the first time two men faced each other in a year's initial three majors since John McEnroe went 3-0 against Jimmy Connors in 1984. The 10th-seeded Shelton also eliminated Sonego in the Australian Open's quarterfinals in January, and the French Open's first round in May. 'Every time I need a big point, he comes up with a highlight shot,' Shelton said, 'and maybe the same, vice versa.' Shelton finished this latest meeting with a flourish, breaking the 47th-ranked Sonego to avoid heading to a tiebreaker, then throwing his head back, yelling 'Come on!' and pounding his chest. 'I'm happy with the way that I played that last game. I feel like that was my best tennis, my best returning, and that's what I'm going to need to continue in this tournament,' said Shelton, who advanced to a matchup against No. 1 Jannik Sinner or No. 19 Grigor Dimitrov. 'So for me to end the match with that sort of game gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.' Up in the stands at No. 1 Court were Shelton's parents, his sister Emma — who stuck around at the All England Club after he made a public plea for her not to have to return to her job at Morgan Stanley on Monday, as originally planned — and his girlfriend, U.S. national soccer team star Trinity Rodman. 'I've got a lot of people that I love over there,' Shelton said during his on-court interview. He credited his father with inspiring the way he plays on grass courts. 'He was in the round of 16 here — 31 years ago? Give or take. He was a serve-and-volleyer. Big serve. Came forward all the time. He would like to see me coming forward a little bit more than I am. My argument is I think I'm better than him from the baseline,' Shelton said. But he's also showing that he has a knack for success on the slick surface, doing the sorts of things that constitute what Shelton termed 'vintage style' tennis of moving forward and cutting off angles and generally being 'a little bit unpredictable.' Against Sonego, Shelton won the point on 43 of his 58 trips to the net, including 11 of 17 when serve-and-volleying. If he can produce those sorts of numbers in his next match, that could help get him to a third career Grand Slam semifinal, after the 2023 U.S. Open and this year's Australian Open. ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
Fox Sports
an hour ago
- Fox Sports
Less than year from the World Cup, US player pool becomes a game of `Survivor'
Associated Press Now comes the U.S. national team's version of 'Survivor.' Having expanded his player pool during a CONCACAF Gold Cup that ended with a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Sunday's final, coach Mauricio Pochettino has eight friendlies left from September through March to evaluate players to pick for the World Cup. 'All the American players have the possibility,' Pochettino said. 'We need analyze every single player, see the circumstances, the situations, performance, fitness level.' Following a CONCACAF Nations League flop with his A team in March, Pochettino had largely a B squad for the Gold Cup. Star Christian Pulisic wanted vacation time; Yunus Musah opted out for an undisclosed personal reason; Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Gio Reyna were forced to be with their teams at the Club World Cup; Antonee Robinson and Folarin Balogun were hurt; and Sergino Dest was regaining fitness. Defender Tim Ream and Tyler Adams were the only holdovers in the lineup against Mexico from the starters in the 2022 World Cup second-round loss to the Netherlands. Players who boosted themselves during the Gold Cup included goalkeeper Matt Freese, right back Alex Freeman, midfielders Malik Tillman and Sebastian Berhalter, and forward Patrick Agyemang. 'Guys have stepped up who were maybe taking a back seat previously, not that they're quiet mice and they just sit there and listen to everything,' said Ream, the 37-year-old who captained the U.S. against Mexico. Pochettino has 10 wins and six losses since replacing Gregg Berhalter last fall. A segment of the team's fan base was discouraged by last year's first-round elimination at the Copa America, this year's Nations League and a four-game losing streak entering the Gold Cup, the team's longest skid since 2007. Crowds that rooted overwhelming for Guatemala in the semifinals and Mexico in the final caused Pochettino to implore the American fan base to support its national team. 'I think it would have been different if we would have played in two stadiums, the other way around, both against Guatemala in St. Louis — 90 (%) to 10 for USA, and today, instead of 70,000 — I'm not saying 70, but 60 or 50,000 of our people supporting us,' he said Sunday. "But, well, this is what we have to deal with.' Even following Freese's emergence, the American goalkeeper pool is its weakest since the 1980s. Matt Turner has failed to establish himself with a top-tier European team, just like Zack Steffen. And given a chance to regain the starting spot after returning to Major League Soccer, Steffen got hurt ahead of the Gold Cup. Richards and Ream are the strongest of the central defenders, and Dest and Robinson the top choice at outside back with no clear No. 2s. Midfield has the most depth and no one has seized the striker position. Ex-players, including Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey and Tim Howard, have criticized the current player pool's dedication. Speaking late Sunday, Adams noted 'so much noise outside of what we were doing on the field' heading into the tournament. 'I told every single player after the game how proud I was just of the growth of every single individual,' Adams said. He said the positive culture Pochettino established over five weeks together has to be maintained for friendlies against South Korea on Sept. 6 and Japan three days later. 'I think it has to translate right away or I think Mauricio just probably won't call people in," Adams said. "The culture that we have, it doesn't matter who you are. If it's guys here that played well, if it's guys coming back into the group, if you're coming back from injury, just whatever it is, the culture and the emotion is the first thing that he wants to see.' There also will be a pair of friendlies in each of October, November and March, a possible January training camp mostly for MLS-based players and then two pre-World Cup send-off games in early June. 'The most important thing is to have our heads up," Pochettino said. "I have no doubt that we are going to be really, really competitive and going to be very difficult for the opponent.' ___ AP freelance writer Jeremy Rakes in Houston contributed to this report. ___ AP soccer:
Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Less than year from the World Cup, US player pool becomes a game of `Survivor'
Now comes the U.S. national team's version of 'Survivor.' Having expanded his player pool during a CONCACAF Gold Cup that ended with a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Sunday's final , coach Mauricio Pochettino has eight friendlies left from September through March to evaluate players to pick for the World Cup.
