USA vs. Switzerland Preview
US looks to bounce back after loss to Turkey
It may have looked better than the pair of Nations League disasters in March, but the US still lost to Turkey on Saturday in front of a crowd of 34,023 fans in East Hartford. That marks three straight losses for Mauricio Pochettino, the first time a USMNT manager has lost three consecutive games since Jurgen Klinsmann dropped three in a row between September and October of 2015. With the World Cup inching closer every day, every loss is magnified. There isn’t much time left for the USMNT to turn their form around and make the fans believe something special is possible at next year’s World Cup. That makes getting a good result on Tuesday against Switzerland all the more important.
Despite the loss to the Turks, there were still some bright spots for the US. They got off to about as good a start as anybody could have hoped for, with Jack McGlynn scoring a fantastic strike in the first minute, not unlike the goal he scored against Venezuela back in January. The US was the better team for the first 20 minutes of the game but then a three-minute stretch saw the Crescent Stars strike twice. The first came off a disastrous mistake by Johnny Cardoso, who has yet to replicate his excellent club form at Real Betis with the national team. The second Turkey goal saw the US twice fail to clear their lines. And despite having the lion’s share of the chances in the second half (including a point-blank header that Malik Tillman should have scored), the US were unable to find an equalizer and slumped to their third straight defeat.
But those looking for positives found several. They got off to a good start, which had been a massive issue in previous losses, under both Pochettino and Gregg Berhalter. Then, once they went down 2-1, they didn’t just lay down and die like they’ve done so often in the past. Several players, including the oft-injured Tyler Adams, showed the fight and heart that Pochettino has been desperately trying to instill into this team. US fans will be hoping the little bit of positive momentum they were able to generate in the second half against Turkey will carry over into Tuesday’s game in Nashville against Switzerland.
The Swiss have largely been a disaster since falling to England in the quarterfinals of Euro 2024. In fact, that penalty loss to England kicked off a winless stretch of eight straight games, five of which were losses. They started to turn things around in late March with a home friendly win over Luxembourg, before thrashing Mexico on Saturday in front of over 41,000 fans at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City (home to the Utah Utes college football team). The roster called in by manager Murat Yakin is brimming with quality and experience. The indefatigable Granit Xhaka of Bayer Leverkusen is captaining the squad at 32-years old with 14 goals and 135 caps to his name. But the man who figures to give the US the most trouble is Monaco forward Breel Embolo, who has 17 goals in his 76 caps for the Swiss.
When, Where
Date: Tuesday, June 10, 2025
Stadium: Geodis Park
City: Nashville, TN
Time: 8pm ET
TV: TNT
All-Time Series
USA trails 1-4-4
Last Meeting
Date: Sunday, May 30, 2021
Stadium: Kybunpark
City: St. Gallen, Switzerland
Result: USA 1-2 Switzerland
Current FIFA Ranking
USA: 16
Switzerland: 20
Next Game
Date: Sunday, June 15, 2025
Competition: Gold Cup group stage
Match-Up: USA vs. Trinidad & Tobago
Stadium: PayPal Park
City: San Jose, CA
Time: 6pm ET
TV: FOX