The U.S. men’s national team did not win either of its two matches during March’s international window but head coach Mauricio Pochettino still believes the squad is trending upward ahead of the FIFA World Cup. No. 6-ranked Portugal handed the Americans a 2-0 defeat at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday, using goals from Francisco Trincao and Joao Felix to claim the victory. After a 5-2 thumping at the hands of Belgium on Saturday, the USMNT delivered a much better performance, but still could not end their lengthy winless run against European opposition. Pochettino’s squad may have started fast in Atlanta but the Argentine admitted that “small details” decided the final outcome.“I think we compete really well,” Pochettino said postmatch in a press conference. “It was again [for the] first half and 20 minutes or 15 minutes in the second half. And in details, in the small details, I think we lose the game.“I think this camp is very positive,” he added. “I think it was the end of our cycle…for preparation for the World Cup. I think this is the end because the next roster is going to be the roster that is going to be involved. I think it’s too many things that we need to assess and to see in the next few weeks.”Pochettino made six changes to his starting lineup from the Belgium defeat, with Christian Pulisic starting in a False No. 9 role atop the attack. The AC Milan star missed just wide of the target with his only shot of the match, playing just 45 minutes in total.Without an international goal since November 2024, pressure has continued to mount on Pulisic, who will now seek to end his lengthy club drought back in Italy this weekend. Pochettino believes that goals will come for the 27-year-old soon enough while Pulisic feels he isn’t far off from turning things around. “Yes, he feels frustrated, but that is what we want, what we expect,” Pochettino said about Pulisic. “He was fighting. He was committing in the phases that we demand more and then with the ball, he’s going to score because he has quality. I am sure that he’s going to come back to his club and the moment that he scores, he is going to score again.”“Physically I feel really good, feel really sharp, and I’m doing a lot of good things,” Pulisic said in a postmatch interview on TNT. “I have to help my team to create assists and score goals and create chances. Obviously when I don’t do that it’s frustrating, but I feel like I’m close and I feel good things are coming.”March’s matches served as the final fixtures for the USMNT before Pochettino names his World Cup roster on May 26. While many of the 27 players named earlier this month may have already locked up their roster spots, there surely still are several more up for grabs with two months of club action left to play.Pochettino expects to see a lot of intensity from all of his players over the next eight weeks, knowing that strong club performances could be the deciding factor in if they are called in May or not. “I think now they know that it’s going to be a competition,” Pochettino said about the final weeks before the World Cup roster is revealed. “They know that we are going to see every single week, every single game, and we are going to assess one year and a half or more, and we are going to make the decision.“I think who would be there is going to be happy, [who is] not on the roster is going to be sad, but I think we don’t need to talk too much,” he added. Luckily for the USMNT, they will have two final tuneups against Senegal and Germany before World Cup play begins for them on June 12. Both countries are ranked in the Top-15 of FIFA’s rankings and will be another pair of stern tests for the Americans to improve and grow. While Pochettino isn’t too concerned with the USMNT earning results in those matches, he does hope they provide good learning lessons for his squad to build off of. “It’s massive for us. It’s about to learn,” Pochettino said about playing Senegal and Germany before the World Cup. “I think we should play more games…like this because even if it’s painful, it’s the only way to improve. It’s the only way to learn. It’s the only way to see how these top players and teams compete.”