Mauricio Pochettino hits out at reporters for not congratulating him after winning World Cup group with US

US boss Mauricio Pochettino has hit out at reporters for not congratulating him after winning Group D in the World Cup.

The United States lost their final group game against Turkey 3-2, but still finished top of the group after winning two games out of three.

Pochettino chose to dismiss the defeat and focus on the US's success in the group stages.

He said: "At the moment, no one congratulated us for finishing first in our group.

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"I congratulate the players, the staff and the fans to finish first in a very difficult group.

"Our objective was to finish first, and we finished first. I'm so positive, and I'm happy. Your questions are a little bit weird."

The Argentine, who previously said that anything other than winning the World Cup will be a disappointment for him, emphasised throughout his press conference with reporters the success his side has already had.

He continued: "Whenever a team has already qualified, and another team has already been knocked out, so many situations come into play.

"We are a much better team now than before. We qualified as number one, and we went to the next round. I need to remind you that we won the group."

The US will face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the knockout stages of the World Cup, which has reached the final 32 for the first time in its history.

The European nation finished third in Group B, securing its spot with four points after drawing with Canada and beating Qatar 3-1.

The United States players were keen to put their defeat to Turkey behind them and focus fully on their match against Bosnia.

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US defender Auston Trusty said: "I felt like we had a lot of opportunities during the game. They didn't.

"I think they had like three shots on goal. Just unfortunately lost, but take it and keep going.

"Obviously, we won the group, that's a positive. I think it's just one of those that you put this behind us, learn from it. We had a lot of chances. Again, we've got to keep it out of the net."

The US played a weaker side against Turkey after already securing qualification, which led midfielder Weston McKennie to say he was not worried about any effect the loss might have.

He said: "I think the momentum will be there for sure.

"Everybody wants to go into the next game winning the game, the previous game, but obviously, we didn't do that, and I think that's going to motivate us even more to try and prove that the first two games weren't just a coincidence.

"So, yeah, I think the momentum will still be there, the vibes will still be there with the team, and we'll look forward to who we have to play next."

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