Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie were probably fast asleep in Italy. Several other U.S. men’s national team starters were recovering from injuries. And in their absence Tuesday night, the USMNT lost to Mexico for the first time in more than five years — in a match marked by debates over its meaning.

On the one hand, it was US-Mexicothe CONCACAF Clasico, a combustible rivalry, and therefore a game that both sides insisted they would play to win.

On the other hand, it was just a friendly test, a preliminary test with no tangible consequences; and so, after Saturday’s victory over Panama, new American coach Mauricio Pochettino allowed Pulisic, McKennie and three others to return to their clubs.

The result, Tuesday in Zapopan, Mexico, was a 2-0 defeat against El Tri – and a performance that, quite frankly, never seemed capable of delivering a victory.

“It looked like the United States didn’t want to play. It looked like no one wanted the ball,” former USMNT star DaMarcus Beasley told TNT at halftime. “No one is playing against Mexico in Mexico right now.”

And halfway through the first half, Raúl Jiménez punished their sloppiness. Passive possession led to an aimless American long ball and then a foul 25 yards from goal. Jiménez curled the ensuing free kick over an American wall and past goalkeeper Matt Turner to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Prior to the goal, the match was choppy and relatively even. Then the hosts took and maintained control. The Americans couldn’t muster anything going forward – not even a single shot in the first half. (They finally put one on goal, in the 79th minute.)

And shortly after halftime, Mexico doubled the lead with a direct attack. Jiménez, a 33-year-old star reborn, won a back-and-forth battle with 37-year-old defenseman Tim Ream, and César Huerta defeated Turner to make it 2-0.

One-way traffic continued for most of the remaining 40 minutes. And American frustration simmered, as previous iterations of the USMNT had got up for this moment. The 2012 team won at Estadio Azteca. Over the next three World Cup cycles, American teams went to Mexico City and each earned a point. They had not lost in Mexico since 2009.

And in recent years, they had taken up the rivalry. The USMNT had won five of their last seven against Mexico and drawn the other two. It won three consecutive Nations League titles. The US had established itself as the undisputed king of CONCACAF for the first time ever.

That’s partly why eyebrows were raised when US Soccer announced Sunday that Pulisic, McKennie and Ricardo Pepi would not make the trip to Guadalajara.

But Pochettino had valid reasons in his second week on the job.

McKennie felt uncomfortable last week and reports in Italy suggest he is suffering from muscle fatigue.

Pulisic is not injured, but “he arrived a little bit tired,” Pochettino said on Friday. “He plays every game, every minute” for AC Milan, which according to Pochettino made him and his staff “a bit worried”.

So Pochettino made the kind of decision that a coach of lesser stature might not be able to make in his first month in charge of a national team; he played the long game.

Pochettino has stressed that the “priority will be to arrive for the World Cup in the best conditions”, as he said at his introductory press conference. And no 20-month friendly, regardless of opponent, will have a significant impact on their state in June 2026.

What would have an impact is Pulisic’s fitness. “If we really need him, he has to be in shape, happy and strong,” Pochettino said last week. “Because he has enormous talent, he is a fantastic player.”

That’s why he allowed Pulisic to return to Milan, a decision that not only manages his physical and mental load, but also builds trust between player, national team and club.

Pochettino also defeated Antonee Robinson, arguably the USMNT’s second most reliable player, at half-time of Tuesday’s match.

After holding McKennie out of Saturday’s game, he talked about wanting to “protect” McKennie. “We didn’t want to take any risks,” Pochettino said.

Nor should he.

But the result – a first defeat to Mexico since the 2019 friendly, one of the first lows of the Gregg Berhalter era – was nevertheless difficult to swallow.

And the performance was one of the USMNT’s worst in the last two years – especially considering the state of the opponent, a sputtering Mexico team under pressure and in disarray.

It exposed the lack of depth in the US player pool behind Pulisic and McKennie – and Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards and Gio Reyna, who are all injured.

It also provided a timely reminder: despite the enthusiasm surrounding Pochettino, the new boss has a lot of of doing work.