With any type of finishing, the US goes to break up 2 or 3 to 0. After that, Mexico is forced to play a panic game. Instead, we saw the difference between soccer experiences.
Berhalter put out a great starting 11. They moved the ball fluidly through their game plan. Chances were created. A befuddled Mexican midfield and back line just sort of stood around while players raced in on them. The chances they created were halfhearted lobs that the taller Americans easily deflected.
At halftime, Tata reorganized his troops. He had them get tighter and play vertically down the middle. What happened then was all too familiar. The Americans accepted those terms and did not know how to cohesively deviate from their original thought. Tactically, Altidore or Arriola could have drifted more inside and let Pulisic head outside. With the additional ball handlers wider, Mexico would have been forced to at least honor that spacing and detract from the tight center. Instead, they stayed with the original plan. Mexico spent most of the 2nd half compacting the US near their penalty area. Eventually, one went in.
Without changing players, the Mexicans knew how to alter their game. Their original plan was beaten, so they changed it. They can do this because experience helps them feel the flow of the game. Unlike American Football where we stop and explain the next move, soccer is played a lot like chess. You're both attacking and defending at the same time. There's too many options and not enough time to think through them all, so the best players learn to read the dynamic. At the club level, familiarity with your teammates helps promote this feeling within the group - which is why national teams are weird.
You don't get enough time practicing with your national teammates to artificially create that cohesiveness. You have to learn that. Players can only learn by playing big games for big teams. The US is getting there, but right now doesn't have enough players with enough big game experience to sense the game. As a result, you get players running diagonal for diagonal passes and vertical for horizontal passes. By themselves, both options were understandable, but together, they equal turnover. With 8 or so passes needed for a legitimate scoring effort, the odds greatly favor turnovers over scoring chances.
The US found a lot of workable pieces in this tournament. The result against Mexico was disappointing, but useful. Michael Bradley is getting too old for the job, but unfortunately he's not holding up the line of stellar defensive midfielders right now. He's the QB of the team. Some mistakes are his sins. Some are those of others.
Now about left back....