The experiment is over, and the results are not close. The United States beat Canada 1-0 at Allianz Field in St. Paul on Oct. 6. That finished a four-game window with four wins.
The winner came in the 29th minute. Orlando City's Justin Ellis finished off a ball from Alex Freeman, and that was enough in front of 19,182 fans. It was a tight, physical night with 43 fouls. The U.S. had just one shot on target, but Canada never broke through.
The whole run
Sept. 26: USA 4, Peru 1 (Orlando)
Sept. 29: USA 4, Chile 2
Oct. 3: USA 3, Mexico 0 (Glendale)
Oct. 6: USA 1, Canada 0 (St. Paul)
That came in the first window of a new World Cup cycle, from a roster built around players who were in MLS NEXT not long ago. Eleven of 12 newcomers got minutes in the opener alone.
Ellis is a good symbol of the whole camp. He scored about four minutes into the Peru match and closed the window with the winner against a Canada side featuring Jonathan David. In MLS this season, he led all teenagers with nine assists as of late September.
The next question for Pochettino is how many of these kids stay when every senior regular is healthy. After four wins, the answer might be more than anyone expected.
