Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie were likely sound asleep in Italy. Several other U.S. men’s national team starters were recovering from injuries. And in their absence Tuesday night, the USMNT lost to Mexico for the first time in over five years — in a match marked by debates over its significance.

On one hand, it was U.S.-Mexico, the CONCACAF Clasico, a combustible rivalry, and therefore a game that both sides insisted they’d play to win.

On the other, it was only a friendly, a pre-test without tangible consequence; and so, after Saturday’s win over Panama, new U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino allowed Pulisic, McKennie and three others to return to their clubs.

The result, on Tuesday in Zapopan, Mexico, was a 2-0 loss to El Tri — and a performance that, frankly, never seemed capable of delivering a victory.

“It seemed like the USA didn’t want to play. It seemed like nobody wanted the ball,” former USMNT star DeMarcus Beasley said on TNT at halftime. “Nobody’s up for this moment, playing against Mexico in Mexico.”

And midway through the first half, Raúl Jiménez punished their sloppiness. Passive possession led to an aimless American long ball, then a foul 25 yards from goal. Jiménez curled the ensuing free kick over a U.S. wall, and past goalkeeper Matt Turner, to give the hosts a 1-0 lead.

Prior to the goal, the game had been choppy and relatively even. Afterward, the hosts took and maintained control. The Americans couldn’t muster anything going forward — not even a single shot in the first half. (They ultimately put one on target, in the 79th minute.)

And shortly after halftime, Mexico doubled its lead with a direct attack. Jiménez, a 33-year-old reborn star, won a back-and-forth battle with 37-year-old defender Tim Ream, and César Huerta beat Turner to make it 2-0.

For most of the remaining 40 minutes, one-way traffic kept coming. And American frustration simmered, because previous iterations of the USMNT had gotten up for this moment. The 2012 team won at Estadio Azteca. Over the next three World Cup cycles, U.S. teams went to Mexico City and got a point each. They hadn’t lost in Mexico since 2009.

And in recent years, they’d taken control of the rivalry. The USMNT had won five of its last seven against Mexico, and drawn the other two. It won three straight Nations League titles. The U.S. had, for the first time ever, established itself as the undisputed king of CONCACAF.

Which is, in part, why eyebrows raised when U.S. Soccer announced Sunday that Pulisic, McKennie and Ricardo Pepi would not make the trip to Guadalajara.

But Pochettino, in his second week on the job, had valid reasons.

McKennie felt discomfort last week, and reports in Italy suggest he’s struggling with muscle fatigue.

Pulisic is not injured, but “he arrived a little bit tired,” Pochettino said Friday. “He’s playing every single game, every single minute” for AC Milan — which, Pochettino said, made him and his staff “a little bit worried.”

So, Pochettino made the type of decision that a coach of lesser stature might not be able to make in his first month leading a national team; he played the long game.

Pochettino has stressed that the “priority is going to be to arrive in the best condition for the World Cup,” as he said at his introductory news conference. And no friendly 20 months out, no matter the opponent, is going to have a significant impact on their condition come June 2026.

What would have an impact is Pulisic’s fitness. “When we really need him, he needs to be in form, happy, strong,” Pochettino said last week. “Because he has enormous talent, he’s a fantastic player.”

So he let Pulisic return to Milan, a decision that not only manages his physical and mental load, but also builds trust between player, national team and club.

Pochettino also took off Antonee Robinson, perhaps the USMNT’s second-most dependable player, at halftime of Tuesday’s game.

After holding McKennie out of Saturday’s game, he spoke about wanting to “protect” McKennie. “We didn’t want to take a risk,” Pochettino said.

Nor should he.

But the result — a first loss to Mexico since a 2019 friendly, one of the early low points of the Gregg Berhalter era — was nonetheless hard to stomach.

And the performance was one of the USMNT’s worst of the last two years — especially given the state of the opponent, a sputtering Mexico team under pressure and in disarray.

It exposed the U.S. player pool’s lack of depth behind Pulisic and McKennie — and Folarin Balogun, Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, Sergiño Dest, Chris Richards and Gio Reyna, all of whom are injured.

It also offered a timely reminder — that despite the enthusiasm surrounding Pochettino, the new boss has a lot of work to do.