INGLEWOOD, Calif. -- After suffering two defeats in the Concacaf Nations League, United States manager Mauricio Pochettino insisted that his side has enough time to turn things around before the 2026 World Cup.

The U.S. came into the tournament's final phases having won the first three Concacaf Nations League titles. But its quest for a fourth straight championship ended in a 1-0 defeat to Panama on Thursday. This was followed by a 2-1 loss to Canada in the third-place match on Sunday.

Both losses took place at SoFi Stadium, where the U.S. plays its World Cup opener on June 12, 2026.

Now the U.S. will have just this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup plus four international windows before the World Cup. That isn't much time for a manager who took over the USMNT last September to turn things around.

But Pochettino, who said "we are all responsible about the two results" in the Nations League, thinks otherwise.

"It's better [to lose] now because I think we have time," Pochettino said after Sunday's match. "Because if we will be in this situation in one year time, for sure. I will tell you, 'Houston, we have a problem. SOS.'"

The results were still a body blow to the USMNT's desire to create momentum heading into the World Cup. The Gold Cup takes on considerable importance, given it will mimic the cadence of a World Cup with a group stage followed by a knockout round.

Pochettino said he understood the fans' disappointment about the showing in the past two matches, but sent a message to the fans: "Don't be pessimistic, and don't get bad feelings."

"We are all [disappointed] and the fans need to feel the disappointment that we didn't win. But I'm not going to allow [us] to feel pessimistic because I think we have good players. We are going to find a way to perform and for sure we are going to compete in a different way."

Among the problems facing the U.S. manager is finding a way to revive the U.S. attack. The former Tottenham coach praised Diego Luna after the Real Salt Lake midfielder assisted on Patrick Agyemang's equalizer Sunday and brought skill and energy throughout.

However, U.S. captain Christian Pulisic struggled to make an impact, touching the ball just 20 times in 69 minutes, and completing just seven of his 12 passing attempts.

"I'm not happy with my output, but yeah, it's partly me and partly just finding different ways to get the ball in that position," Pulisic said. "It was tough for whatever reason in the last two games.

"We never really found a rhythm and were aggressive enough in the attack to create enough chances, so that's what I look at first as an attacking player."

U.S. defender Tyler Adams was circumspect when asked to compare his team's mentality in the Panama game with Sunday's match against Canada, but pointed out numerous aspects the team can improve.

"I mean, listen, it's hard for me to judge. I think my mentality is a little bit different," Adams said. "I think we need to have every single person buy into exactly what we're doing and what we're trying to do. But it's just the little things for me. Duels, tackles leaving your mark on the field, not being naive in certain moments, being a little bit more clever.

"All the details of the games that I feel like when I watch people play with their clubs, we do. And then when we come here, sometimes I think we forget a little bit what the games are going to give us."

The U.S. will next play in June, when it faces Turkey and Switzerland in a pair of friendlies before the start of the Gold Cup.