Folarin Balogun scores again and US improvement continues in 1-1 draw with Ecuador

The US results still aren't matching performances, but now there are more reasons for optimism than ever

Mauricio Pochettino has said multiple times through the United States' up-and-down 2025 that he does not care about results yet. The most important place to win - in fact, the only important place to win, according to him - is at the 2026 World Cup. The results would ideally match the performances, sure, but they don't have to. Not yet.

That's a good thing, because once again on Friday night the US performance was met with a result that was probably less than the Americans deserved. A 1-1 draw with Ecuador in Austin, Texas saw the US control the flow of the game most of the time, winning most of the individual defensive battles and on occasion constructing some truly attractive moves forward against Ecuador's disciplined defensive shell.