USMNT vs. Paraguay: Key takeaways from Americans' statement-making win

Chester, Pa. — The U. S. Men's National Team beat Paraguay, 2-1, in Chester, Pennsylvania, to get its November camp off to a winning start.

It's the USMNT's fourth undefeated match in a row after beating Japan, drawing against Ecuador and beating Australia earlier in the fall.

The USMNT pulled off this win without many of its key stars: Christian Pulisic, Chris Richards, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and Tyler Adams were all absent from the lineup.

Here are the key takeaways from this confidence-building win:

Mauricio Pochettino wants chemistry...and Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson and Max Arfsten gave it to him

When Pochettino spoke to the press in advance of this Paraguay match, one word came up more often than most: chemistry. "You cannot be Harry Potter, no, and touch and say 'create chemistry,'" Pochettino laughed. No kidding. Building team relationships takes time and intention, and with the World Cup just seven months away, Pochettino really only has one of those things.

It's easy to roll your eyes at talk of "chemistry" when most of the USMNT's presumed World Cup starting 11 is absent with injuries, but this Paraguay match proved why chemistry matters. Gio Reyna, Brenden Aaronson and Max Arfsten were in scintillating form, pinging balls to one another like they'd been playing together for years. Will all three of them be starters in the World Cup next summer? Probably not. But what a relief it is to know that Pochettino can pull all three from the bench, sub them into a difficult game and get immediate results. That's the power of chemistry, right there.

Reyna was electric, but Joe Scally failed to spark

Reyna and Joe Scally, the two Americans plying their trade at Germany's Borussia Monchengladbach, have been out of the USMNT picture for years. (Reyna's absence was injury-driven; Scally's appears to have been Poch's decision.) The two made their long-awaited return to the starting lineup Saturday and gave wildly different accounts of themselves. Reyna was bright from the jump, scoring the USMNT's opening goal and assisting its second. Scally, though? He failed to settle into the "special role" Pochettino set for him and found himself hooked shortly after halftime.