Brenden Aaronson’s struggles prove costly: USMNT winners and losers from Mauricio Pochettino’s first loss as manager at Mexico

Everyone in this region has known for some time that Mexico striker Raul Jimenez is a monster. It feels like, for a while there, though, people forgot.

This was your reminder, then, that Jimenez is still that guy.

His free-kick goal in the first half might just be the prettiest he’s scored for El Tri, and it sent shockwaves through the Estadio Akron. To have the audacity to even shoot from that distance is impressive. To bury it? That’s world-class.

The forward’s contribution to the second goal wasn’t quality, but rather effort, as he ran Tim Ream down to set up Cesar Huerta’s goal. Even at 33, he still brought that energy, and the USMNT never matched it. Even with the rise of Santi Gimenez, it’s worth paying a bit more attention to Raul, who will have something to say on the road to the 2026 World Cup.

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  LOSER: Mark McKenzie

  That’s some bad luck, isn’t it?

  Just days after being named U.S. Soccer’s Man of the Match against Panama, Mark McKenzie was back in the XI to face Mexico. He was riding high off the best performance of his USMNT career. This game in Guadalajara was his chance to really show Pochettino what he could do.

  Then, moments before kickoff, the bad news filtered through: McKenzie was out, with U.S. Soccer saying he experienced tightness in his left groin prior to the start of the match

  That’s a bad break for a player who had waited patiently for his chance. He played zero minutes at the Copa America, admitting in an interview with GOAL that he was a “fringe player.” He’s not content with life on the fringes, though.

  Unfortunately, a pregame knock robbed him of a big chance on the road, and he was replaced by Miles Robinson. There will be more for him, no doubt, but this could have been a big one.

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    WINNER: Mexico

    After a poor performance against a rotated Valencia side in a 2-2 draw over the weekend, Mexico could not afford another setback against its fierce rival. Fortunately for manager Javier Aguirre, El Tri delivered in an impressive performance against the Americans.

    The home side outmuscled the U.S., especially in midfield. Gianluca Busio, Aiden Morris and Yunus Musah were rendered ineffective by Mexico’s press. Despite the U.S. leading possession 53 to 47 percent, Mexico was more incisive with its attack when it got the ball. Yes, it took two moments of magic from Jimenez, but Mexico’s dominance was evidence by shot attempts where it had 16 to the U.S.’s five.

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    LOSER: Brenden Aaronson

    It’s not even necessarily that Brenden Aaronson couldn’t cope with the physicality. Rather, it’s that he wasn’t really willing to play through it.

    Time and time again, Aaronson went down due to some rough play and, time and time again, the referee told him to play on. The USMNT midfielder seemed more frustrated each time as he couldn’t get a foul call no matter how hard he was hit.

    That’s what these games are like, though. Those are the type of calls that don’t go your way when playing in a hostile atmosphere. Aaronson certainly knows that, having been through a World Cup qualifying cycle but, even with that knowledge, Mexico was able to rattle him.

    As a result, he had a rough night, to put it lightly. He had multiple giveaways in bad spots, as did plenty of his teammates. Aaronson stood out, though, simply because his issues usually ended with him on the ground protesting to the referee.

    Aaronson is getting stronger every year, and Leeds is sharpening in the Championship every week. This just wasn’t a night for him in any way, shape or form.

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    WINNER: The missing USMNT stars

    If you needed any reminder of how important those missing players are to this team, just look at this result.

    While most of the focus will be on Pulisic’s absence, especially considering his recent form, this match was begging for the inclusion of McKennie and Tyler Adams in central midfield.

    Aidan Morris and Gianluca Busio were overmatched by the likes of Edson Alvarez and Co, and the physicality of Adams and McKennie were clearly missed.

    Two other players who were also missed: Gio Reyna, who has had some strong games against El Tri in the past, and Tim Weah. Weah’s directness in wing, is something that the U.S. struggles to replicate when he isn’t in the lineup.

    Hopefully, most of those players will be able to make their return to the lineup when the U.S. plays in November in the Nations League.

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    LOSER: The USMNT’s double-pivot of Busio and Morris

    What a missed opportunity for both. Not only were Morris and Busio dominated by Mexico’s midfield, there was a lack of vision and creativity from the U.S. double pivot.

    Busio, in particular, has been a creative spark for his club Venezia in Serie A, but he struggled to find space for passes and only completed 17 in 63 minutes.

    By comparison, Andres Guardado, who made a 19-minute celebratory cameo, connected on 11 of his 13 passes. Morris won just three of the eight ground duels he was in.

    As a result of the midfield’s ineffectiveness, the U.S.’s attack largely had to play deep. Josh Sargent cut an isolated figure for the 63 minutes he played.