'Actual tactics' U.S. fans poke fun at former boss as Pochettino era lifts off

The first half was particularly impressive as Pochettino's side raced into a three-goal lead thanks to a brace from Christian Pulisic and a well-placed effort from Ricardo Pepi.

Pictured in St. Louis during that dominant opening period was none other than former U.S. boss Gregg Berhalter alongside 2002 World Cup coach Bruce Arena.

Unsurprisingly, fans on social media were quick to gloat at his expense.

"Good thing Gregg Berhalter is at the game, he gets to witness actual tactics," joked one.

"Did we ever see a half as enjoyable as that under Gregg Berhalter? Recency bias maybe but I'm confident we never looked that good," added a second.

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A third posted a gif of Alan from The Hangover insisting he wasn't jealous with the caption "Gregg Berhalter watching the USMNT score 3 goals in a half."

"Tim Weah scoring in front of Berhalter after getting Berhalter fired is a legendary USMNT," wrote a fourth supporter.

Berhalter was fired after a disastrous Copa America elimination in the group stage.

Pochettino has almost 18 months to prepare for the 2026 World Cup and fans are already confident about what they are seeing.

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But he was critical of his side's lack of intensity in the second half after Demarai Gray scored twice, either side of Tim Weah's terrific volley.

"In the second half, we didn't approach the game in the way we wanted," Poch admitted.

"The goal was to win the second half, and we didn't approach it with the same intensity and mentality. It shows we still have things we need to improve."

Still, the U.S. cruised into the last four of the CONCACAF Nations League as the tie ended 5-2 following their 1-0 victory in Kingston last Thursday.

The Stars and Stripes have now won three of their four games under Pochettino.

The first international break under the former Chelsea manager included a fine but hardly destructive 2-0 victory against Panama and a defeat against Mexico.

Pulisic's brace made it 17 goals and assists in just 20 games this season for club and country as he enjoys one of the better periods of his career.

The AC Milan superstar came under fire from some fans for performing the 'Trump Dance' during the win.

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But Pulisic insisted he was just following a trend rather than making a political statement.

"I saw everyone doing it yesterday in the NFL, I saw Jon Jones do it, and we were just having a bit of fun. I thought it was a pretty fun dance," he said.

"Obviously, that's the Trump Dance but it was just a dance that everyone was doing. He's the one who created it, and I thought it was funny.

"It's not a political dance. It was just for fun. I saw a bunch of people do it and thought it was funny, so I enjoyed it."