INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino offered an Americanism after the United States' second straight dismal loss in the CONCACAF Nations League.
“If we would be today in this situation in one year time, for sure, I will tell you, ‘Houston, we have a problem, no?’ SOS,” the Argentine coach said after Sunday's 2-1 loss to Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League third-place match.
The U.S. hadn't lost a competitive match to its northern neighbors on U.S. soil since 1957 and it hadn't lost back-to-back matches to Canada since 1980 and '85. But after Pochettino's team followed up its suprising 1-0 defeat to Panama on Thursday night with another clunker, the coach didn't seem worried and tried his best to radiate optimism and problem-solving acumen.
“It’s all a process we need to change, and I don’t want to say that I’m happy — don’t take me wrong,” Pochettino said. "But if (there's) something negative about (a) result, something to learn, it’s better now, because I think we have time."
The defeats took place at SoFi Stadium, where the U.S. plays its World Cup opener on June 12, 2026.
“We were not able to discover and to try and extend our strategy to the team, the capacity to play another way," Pochettino said. "I think we have time. I prefer that that happened today, and not in one year.”
The U.S. is 5-3 since the arrival last fall of Pochettino, the longtime Tottenham boss who also worked at Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. It's difficult to discern any areas of progress for this modestly talented roster under its new coach, but Pochettino believes his brief tenure has been useful for identifying the problems he'll need to solve in the next year.
“I am (a) very optimistic and positive guy,” Pochettino said. “Even when I’m angry and really upset and really disappointed, I want to find the positive thing that we can take from these two games. Who knows? No one knows how we are going to arrive to the World Cup, and then to perform. For sure, (the Nations League result) is not going to affect. If it is going to affect, it is in a positive way, not negative.”
The Americans looked neither sharp nor competitive against Panama, and they improved only slightly against Canada. They had one moment of offensive success when Tim Weah and Diego Luna did the hard work to set up a first-half goal by Patrick Agyemang, who has scored in three of his first four national team appearances, but the U.S. had far more moments of frustration.
The Americans also had just enough moments of defensive disorganization to cost them dearly. Although the U.S. back line was a bit patchwork due to injuries, the defenders couldn't stop Canada's Jonathan David before he fired home the eventual winning goal in the second half.
The U.S. didn't get much out of captain Christian Pulisic, the AC Milan star. Pulisic came off in the 69th minute against Canada.
“Now all we can do is go and be an example at our clubs every day, be the best we can be,” Pulisic said. “That’s how the national team is, and then when we come back, of course some things need to change, and we need to improve. We’re going to look back and see what that is. I don’t have all the answers at the moment.”
Pochettino will get only a few more training camps and one more tournament before the World Cup. That tournament is the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup — and even that won't be a full-team experience, since a few players will be with their pro teams at the simultaneous FIFA Club World Cup.
For all their flaws, Pochettino doesn't publicly doubt his players' burning desire to fix things before their World Cup moment next year. Pulisic and the other American leaders all say they'll work to find the solutions to the multiple problems facing them in the ensuing 15 months.
“This team is everything to me,” Pulisic said. “I care so much for this team, for this country. I hope people know that about me, and it’s truly an honor, so anytime I get to lead this team and this country, it’s an honor for me.”
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/soccer
FILE - United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino celebrates with fans after defeating Panama in an international friendly soccer match, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez, File)
FILE - The United States' head coach Mauricio Pochettino gives a press conference ahead of an international friendly soccer match against Mexico, at Akron Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico, Oct. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.
The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.
U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”
Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.
The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.
The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.
Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.
The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.
According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.
As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”
Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.
“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.
But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.
Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.
This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)
