Wright and Roldan get Pochettino's attention 8 months ahead of World Cup

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COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (AP) — Haji Wright and Cristian Roldan got U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino's attention eight months ahead of the World Cup.

Given his first start in 13 months, Wright scored in the 33rd and 51st minutes off passes from Roldan to spark the United States to its first come-from-behind win under Pochettino in a 2-1 friendly victory over Australia on Tuesday night.

“That is what we expect when you give the opportunity to the player,” Pochettino said. “A player that performs like today, Haji, can be close. It's possible to be involved."

Wright, 27, plays for Coventry in England, leads the second-tier League Championship with eight goals. He has 11 goals in 13 games for club and country since August.

He scored the U.S. goal in the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup but hadn't started for the Americans since a friendly in September 2024 under interim coach Mikey Varas, a month before Pochettino took over.

Wright, who has seven goals in 19 international appearances, had never before scored for the U.S. in a game he started.

“They’re putting me in positions to show what I can do and they’re allowing me to be expressive in the field,” he said of Pochettino and Coventry manager Frank Lampard. “I’m not just stuck in the No. 9 as a typical striker. I’m allowed to move and be free flowing.”

Folarin Balogun, the other top U.S. forward, scored the tying goal against Ecuador,

“Picked up off where Flo was last game,” defender Chris Richards said.

Roldan, a member of the 2022 World Cup roster who didn't get into a game in Qatar, returned to the national team last month as a late addition, a week after the September roster had been announced. He had not been with the national team since the CONCACAF Gold Cup in July 2023.

“My wife and I kept saying that we believe that we can make a late run, make a late push, and hopefully I’m making my case,” Roldan said.

He was a 62nd-minute minute substitute in the 2-0 loss to South Korea, went the distance in the 2-0 win over Japan, entered in the 73rd minute in Friday's 1-1 tie against Ecuador and played until the 76th against the Socceroos.

“Pochettino has done a great job of making me feel confident and comfortable here and so just proud to be part of this and hopefully I’m 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 with confidence, with self belief, with a little bit arrogance, with a little bit the being naughty, being competitive,” Pochettino said. “Maybe Cristian Roldan is an example of how if you want to build your perfect player, he has a little bit of everything.”

“I don’t say that he’s going to be in the next roster or is going to be in the World Cup," he added, “but I think at the moment or so far, after last camp and now, it’s a player that we wanted to give the opportunity, we gave the opportunity and look what is going on.”

Pochettino also says he is thinking ahead to the 2030 World Cup cycle, even though it is after his contract ends

“It’s our responsibility to create some legacy or to try to create some core of players that behave in the same way and feel in the same way, respect the values that we were talking about, culture and everything,” he said, “maybe to have this core of players that they can that can arrive in 2030 in a different situation (than) that was this World Cup.”

After struggling for much of his first year in charge, the U.S. has put together a three-game unbeaten streak.

“I am pleased but I wanted more,” Pochettino said. “I wanted to perform better. I wanted to see individual players doing better. But that is my competitive blood.”

Australia went ahead after Jordan Bos bounced a throw-in that James Sands tried to clear only for the ball to spin into the penalty area. Bos chested the ball to himself, split Roldan and Sands, then beat Richards to the ball and hooked it with his left foot past Matt Freese’s outstretched left arm for his second international goal.

“When you arrive to the World Cup you cannot concede this type of goal.” Pochettino said. “In the World Cup if you start the game in the way that we start and we concede a goal like this, ah, and then it’s difficult to have another chance.”

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