'If we had had the support of the majority today, it would be different'

USA coach Mauricio Pochettino said Sunday that if his team had more fans in the stadium, it would have been a different result in the Gold Cup final, which his side lost to Mexico.

"It was a good game. Mexico is a great team, they have great players and a good coaching staff, but I want to stress how important the fans are in a football match. When you have the support, you regenerate the player's energy on the pitch and when you don't have it, you drain the energy and it costs you," he said.

Mexico beat the United States 2-1 in Sunday's Gold Cup final to claim their 10th title in the top tournament for teams from North, Central America and the Caribbean, six more than their opponents. The championship took place in an NGR Stadium where the majority of the more than 70,000 fans were Mexican.

"If we had had the majority behind us today it would have been different, but that's what we have to do. We had a good first 20 minutes, then Mexico cornered us in their half and in the second half the game was even, it went Mexico's way for a few details, but not much happened in the second half," he added.

Despite not winning the trophy, Pochettino, who began his time in charge of the US last September, drew positive conclusions from the tournament.

"This Gold Cup allowed us to have the players together for 40 days to establish the principles of what we want and that has been very useful. It was important to see players crying after losing, it makes me happy because that's the way this sport should feel," he added.

On the absence of key players like Christian Pulisic, Milan midfielder, and Weston McKennie, Juventus midfielder, the Argentine did not close the door on them for the September FIFA date.

"For different circumstances we had the squad we had, but everyone has the chance to be in September. The doors are open for everyone," he said.