Pochettino says pro-visitor crowd in St. Louis was `like to play in Guatemala’

ST LOUIS AP Mauricio Pochettino got a feel for what the U S men s national organization still faces at times during home games a crowd rooting for the opposition It was like to play in Guatemala the coach explained after his band got two early goals from Diego Luna and hung on for a - win Wednesday night that advanced the Americans to the CONCACAF Gold Cup final That was good for our players because it was an atmosphere that we didn t expect The U S will play Mexico or Honduras on Sunday in Houston the Americans last competitive match before next year s World Cup A sellout crowd of at Energizer Park energized Los Chapines who outshot the U S - and got an th-minute goal from Olger Escobar That is football Pochettino revealed When we say the connection in between the fans and the club that is the connection that we d like to see in the World Cup That connection that makes you fly because of the strength that translates U S players are used to specific home matches where the help is overwhelmingly for the opponent We re a country full of immigrants so it was kind of expected for tonight defender Chris Richards stated It was good for certain of the younger guys to kind of experience that tonight but for us experienced guys we went through World Cup qualifiers with the exact same stuff so I think that was a good lesson that the band needed to learn An Argentine who played for his nation times Pochettino comes from a tradition where soccer dominates life I saw player of the Guatemala crying he announced That is the way that we need to feel and our fans need to feel the same It s not to come here and to enjoy f the spectacle and if you lose nothing happens Yes it happens a lot Things happen because you play for your pride you play for several several things that I think I cannot tell you tonight But I think it s good for our players I came from Argentina and in Argentina it s not the same win or lose The consequences are massive The rest of the opponents and the different countries he added you play for survival you play for food you play for pride you play for several things It s not to go and enjoy and go home and laugh and that s it Luna has evidenced the hunger Pochettino wants The -year-old impressed the coach when he continued playing with a broken nose during a January friendly against Costa Rica in which the Americans used a B group after training sessions with mostly Major League Soccer players that particular fans nicknamed Camp Cupcake He s become a regular in the Gold Cup and has three goals in his last two games Diego was the example from January how he is desperate to play for this shirt for the national squad and that is why now he is in the level that he indicated Pochettino noted Striker Patrick Agyemang also has emerged from January camp to gain a starting berth at the Gold Cup where a large number of regulars are absent Sometimes you say it s useless people say it s useless Pochettino noted of the January camp It s not useless I think it s major key for the national squad key for the club and very major for the country Luna scored in the fourth and th minutes the first with his left foot and the second with his right I loved it It was awesome man he stated of the conditions That s what every contest should be like and I think that the Guatemalans should be very proud of the fan base that they have and the force they bring Defender Tim Ream who captained the U S in his hometown stated positive results will grow the fanbase None of it s going to happen unless we win unless we continue to win he commented For us what s the hallmark of a U S club It s fighting and togetherness That s what we re finding and doing in this tournament And it s not dependably going to be perfect It s not going to inevitably be pretty but doing that fosters that connection with the fans with the diehards with the casuals with everybody And as long as we continue to do that then that practices grows the feelings grow and the connections grow AP soccer https apnews com hub soccer Source