usa vs new zealand | USMNT star Pulisic ready to 'turn the page' under Pochettino

Christian Pulisic stared in frustration after the final whistle and made clear how much work Mauricio Pochettino has ahead, but he added he thought there were better days ahead.An 89th-minute defensive mix-up had dropped the United States into a 1-1 tie with New Zealand in a friendly on Tuesday night, a match that kicked off 30 minutes after the U.S. Soccer Federation announced it hired Pochettino to coach the Americans through the 2026 World Cup."It's time to turn the page and we really have to pick it up a level," Pulisic said. "Everyone is part of this and it feels pretty low right now, but I know there's better times ahead."Mikey Varas led the team for the second game as interim coach following the firing of Gregg Berhalter, let go after the Americans' first-round elimination in the Copa América. The U.S. was coming off Saturday's 2-1 defeat to Canada, the Americans' first to the Canadians on home soil since 1957.

Pulisic put the U.S. ahead in the 69th minute, 12 minutes after entering, and with 31 international goals moved past Brian McBride for fifth on the U.S. career list. But sloppiness by Caleb Wiley and Mark McKenzie led to Ben Waine's 89th-minute goal.The U.S. is winless in four straight games overall and in four consecutive home games for the first time since a seven-game stretch in 2010-11.Pochettino arrives in the U.S. on Wednesday and takes over ahead of exhibitions on Oct. 12 against Panama at Austin, Texas, and at Mexico three days later."Everybody is excited for this next chapter. He brings tremendous quality," Varas said. "I'm proud that we moved the program forward a little bit. And Mauricio coming, now it's going to be accelerated, and I think really good things are ahead of us."Pulisic scored following an 11-pass buildup that included Chris Richards, McKenzie, Aidan Morris, Marlon Fossey, Luca de la Torre, Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun.