United States coach Mauricio Pochettino defended his players and said criticism of the team should be directed at him and not his roster after Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Japan at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.

"I prefer that the people criticize me, but don't touch the player," Pochettino said. "I hope in the future, criticize me, criticize me, but let the player play free, go and perform."

Guided by goals from Alejandro Zendejas and Folarin Balogun , the friendly victory represented a turnaround for the manager who was coming off back-to-back defeats after Saturday's loss to South Korea . Heading into the match against Japan, Pochettino had overseen losses in six of his 11 previous matches.

Regarding the noise and pressure before facing Japan, the Argentine coach, who wa

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