USMNT Brawl Overshadows 4-2 Win Over Chile
A post-match scuffle erupted after the USA beat Chile 4-2, with Tyler Adams held back and Pochettino stepping in to separate players.
The United States beat Chile 4-2 in St Louis on Tuesday night, but the result was overshadowed by a bench-clearing brawl after the final whistle.
Chile winger Leandro Hernandez appeared to poke goalkeeper Brian Schwake with his foot as the American smothered the ball on the ground. Defender Chris Richards confronted Hernandez and shoved him, and substitutes from both benches poured onto the field to join the scuffle. Captain Tyler Adams had to be held back, and Mauricio Pochettino stepped in to help separate the two sides.
"Obviously they're frustrated," Richards said afterwards. "They're losing the game, deservedly. But then if they want to foul our goalie, want to kick him when he's on the ground? They're on our home soil, so that's not going to fly."
The football itself belonged to a young US squad still finding its shape after the World Cup exit to Belgium. Sebastian Berhalter opened the scoring in the 37th minute, finishing off a move started by Sergiño Dest's combination play down the near side and a Julian Hall touch that sent the ball into his path. Hall doubled the lead in the 51st minute, rising above his marker to meet a Gio Reyna cross. Chris Richards struck the tiebreaking goal in the 72nd minute as part of a second-half comeback, and 17-year-old Mathis Albert added a stoppage-time goal to seal it.
Albert, at 17 years and 140 days, became the youngest-ever goalscorer for the US men's national team. Hall, 18, has now scored in each of his first two senior appearances. Both moments came in a first half that was otherwise shaky: the Americans conceded several chances and were fortunate to go in level at the break.
Chile, ranked 49th in the world, arrived without captain Gabriel Suazo, sent off in a 1-0 loss to Canada three days earlier along with teammate Lucas Cepeda. Interim manager Nicolás Córdova is overseeing a generational rebuild of a side that won back-to-back Copa Américas in the 2010s and reached the World Cup knockout rounds in 2010 and 2014.
The win followed a 4-1 defeat of Peru on Saturday, giving the US back-to-back four-goal outings to open the new World Cup cycle. Pochettino's squad next faces Mexico on Saturday in the Phoenix area, before closing out the window against Canada on 6 October in St Paul, Minnesota. A full breakdown of Canada's 1-0 win over Chile is available at /en/football/event/canada-chile-2026-09-26_6230710/.
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