The Pulse Newsletter 📣 | This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox.Good morning! Don’t be afraid to bench someone today. Inside:
Lessons: HeadlineThe U.S. men’s national team is in a place wholly unknown tonight: playing a World Cup game that means nothing, in a good way. The Americans are 2-0 in the Cup, the first time that’s happened since 1930. They’ve won the group. And yet, we find some consternation over strategy, of all things. Who should coach Mauricio Pochettino play tonight? Should the stars keep the momentum going or take a rest? Or maybe there’s a happy medium. Just look south of the border last night:
Mexico, having sewn up the top spot in Group A, elected to sit multiple starters with no tangible results at stake. Despite that, the team walked out of group play with a perfect 3-0 record after a 3-0 win over the now-eliminated Czech Republic. It was the best-case scenario. They even gave Mexican goalkeeping legend Guillermo Ochoa a proper send-off
U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed he is playing it (mostly) safe tonight, which I would argue is the logical choice. Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams and Folarin Balogun, all on yellow cards, will not play. Christian Pulisic, who missed the Americans’ win over Australia with a calf injury, is available, though it’s unclear whether he’ll start or come off the bench. Read that full update here.
