US coach Mauricio Pochettino says 'We’re going to have the possibility to win the World Cup'

EAST HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A third straight loss didn’t prevent Mauricio Pochettino from thinking big.

“We need to believe. We need to compete like today and for sure we’re going to have the possibility to win the World Cup,” the U.S. coach said after the Americans lost their third straight game, wasting an early lead in a 2-1 defeat to Turkey in a friendly on Saturday.

Jack McGlynn scored 59 seconds in for the U.S., which was missing many regulars as Pochettino revamped his roster following a dismal performance at the CONCACAF Nations League final four in March.

Turkey took advantage of a sloppy defense as Arda Güler and Kerem Aktürkoğlu scored in a 2-minute, 20-second span midway through the first half.

While the U.S. had 60% possession and outshot Turkey 13-11, the Americans dropped to 5-4 under Pochettino, who took over after first-round elimination at last year’s Copa America led the U.S. Soccer Federation to fire coach Gregg Berhalter. They have lost three straight for the second time in a year.

“Today, who is going to tell me, oh, we showed lack of, we showed lack of — lack of what today?” said Pochettino, a 53-year-old from Argentina who coached Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. “The team showed what (it) needed to show. ... Playing in this way, they are going to win most of the games.”

Coaching a nation that hasn't reached the World Cup semifinals since 1930 or the quarterfinals since 2022, Pochettino changed eight starters from the Nations League loss to Canada in March and kept only left back Max Arfsten, winger Diego Luna and forward Patrick Agyemang.

“Some guys that are coming in — and they’re not thinking twice about taking someone on. It’s not playing safe. It’s like, let’s take risks and try to go after this thing,” said midfielder Tyler Adams, who entered at the start of the second half. “I think having fresh faces, guys that aren’t fearless, young guys, that’s going to help us.”

With a year to go before co-hosting the World Cup, the U.S. plays Switzerland on Tuesday at Nashville, Tennessee, in another friendly, then opens the CONCACAF Gold Cup against Trinidad and Tobago on June 15.

“I am really sad because I think this group of players are working so hard and I think we deserve (a) better result today,” Pochettino said. “I think we performed well. I think we're brave enough. I think the attitude was: Go and press, match in every single aspect a team like Turkey that is one of the best teams in the last year in Europe.”

Defender Alex Freeman, a 20-year-old son of former NFL All-Pro receiver Antonio Freeman, started in his U.S. debut. Matt Freese, a starter at Major League Soccer’s New York City, made his debut in goal. Matt Turner, the usual starter since 2022, didn’t play for Crystal Palace after March 1.

Midfielder Quinn Sullivan and defender Nathan Harriel made debuts as 65th-minute substitutes.

McGlynn scored when he ran onto a pass from Malik Tilman, took several touches, cut inside and curled a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area inside the far post for his second goal in five international appearances. It was the earliest U.S. goal since Shaq Moore scored 20 seconds in against Canada during the 2021 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Turkey tied it in the 24th minute when Freese tapped the ball to Johnny Cardoso, whose pass ricocheted off a leg and past Freese for Güler’s fifth international goal.

Then in the 27th, Miles Robinson tried to clear Oğuz Aydın’s shot and the ball went to Aktürkoğlu, who one-timed a bouncing shot past Freese for his 12th international goal and sixth in eight games.

“Of the goals that we concede, that created a big mess on the team,” Pochettino said.

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United States defender Chris Richards (3) dribble the ball up the field past a fallen Turkey defender during the first half of an international friendly soccer game, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

Turkey's Kaan Ayhan slides to kick the ball away from United States midfielder Quinn Sullivan (7) during the second half of an international friendly soccer game, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

United States goalie Matt Freese (25) directs his team during the first half of an international friendly soccer game against Turkey, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

Turkey forward Arda Güler (10) controls the ball ahead of United States defender Alex Freeman (16) during the second half of an international friendly soccer game, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino encourages his team during the first half of an international friendly soccer game against Turkey, Saturday, June 7, 2025, in East Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm)

NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of New York City nurses returned to the picket lines Tuesday as their strike targeting some of the city’s leading hospital systems entered its second day.

Union officials say roughly 15,000 nurses walked off the job Monday morning at multiple campuses of three hospital systems: NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, Montefiore Medical Center and Mount Sinai.

The affected hospitals have hired droves of temporary nurses to try to fill the labor gap. Both nurses and hospital administrators have urged patients not to avoid getting care during the strike.

New York City, like the U.S. as a whole, has had an active flu season. The city logged over 32,000 cases during the week ending Dec. 20 — the highest one-week tally in at least 20 years — though numbers have since declined, the Health Department said last Thursday.

Roy Permaul, an intensive care unit nurse who was among those picketing in front of Mount Sinai's flagship campus in Manhattan, said he and his colleagues are prepared to walk off the job as long as needed to secure a better contract.

But Dania Munoz, a nurse practitioner at Mount Sinai, stressed that the union’s fight wasn’t just about better wages.

“We deserve fair pay, but this is about safety for our patients, for ourselves and for our profession,” the 31-year-old Bronx resident said. “The things that we’re fighting for, we need. We need health care. We need safety. We need more staffing.”

The New York State Nurses Association said Tuesday that none of the hospitals have agreed to additional bargaining sessions with the union since their last meetings on Sunday.

It also complained that Mount Sinai, which operates seven hospitals, unlawfully fired three nurses hours after the strike started and improperly disciplined 14 others who had spoken out about workplace violence or discussed the union and contract negotiations with their colleagues.

Mount Sinai spokespersons said Tuesday the claims were “not accurate” and that they would provide more information later. Mt. Sinai has said approximately 20% of its nurses reported for work on the first day of the strike rather than picketing.

Meanwhile, Montefiore Medical Center said it has “not canceled even one patient’s access to care” during the work stoppage. The city Emergency Management Department said it hasn’t seen major impacts to patient care so far.

The hospital system also criticized unionized nurses for seeking “troubling proposals” such as demanding that nurses not be terminated, even if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job.

The union said Montefiore was “blatantly mischaracterizing” one of its basic workplace proposals, which would have added protections for nurses dealing with substance use disorders and which has already been adopted in other hospitals around the state.

The labor action comes three years after a similar strike forced medical facilities to transfer some patients and divert ambulances.

As with the 2023 labor action, nurses have pointed to staffing issues as a major flashpoint, accusing the big-budget medical centers of refusing to commit to provisions for safe, manageable workloads.

The private, nonprofit hospitals involved in the current negotiations say they’ve made strides in staffing in recent years and have cast the union’s demands as prohibitively expensive.

On Monday, the city's new mayor, Zohran Mamdani, stood beside nurses on a picket line outside NewYork-Presbyterian, praising the union’s members for seeking “dignity, respect and the fair pay and treatment that they deserve.”

Nurses strike in front of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Nurses strike in front of Montefiore Hospital in the Bronx borough of New York, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)