United States coach Mauricio Pochettino has apologized for his comments to the press after the 3-2 defeat to Turkey in the the last match of the group stage in the World Cup last week.
"I want to apologize to the guys that were at my last press conference. I was so frustrated. I was so disappointed," he said in a news conference on Tuesday.
"Sorry for that. It was my problem not your problem. I was so upset after the defeat against Turkey."
In his post-game press conference after the Turkey defeat, Pochettino called questions from reporters "weird" and insisted he should have been congratulated for leading the team to first place in Group D.
"It cannot be possible that Turkey celebrates three points, Australia celebrates getting through, Paraguay celebrates getting through … for you to not say congratulations for winning the group, it’s a little bit sad," he said back then.
Co-hosts US are preparing for their round of 32 match against Bosnia and Herzegovina and took notes after top favourites have been sent home.
Germany were eliminated after a 4-3 defeat on penalties to Paraguay, while the Netherlands had the same fate after losing the shoot-out to Morocco 3-2.
"It's a World Cup. You're never going to get the so-called favourite winning every single time," US forward Christian Pulisic said.
"This is soccer. This is the way things go. You can defend all game and win in a penalty kick shoot-out, and that's the beauty of the game. We have to be ready for whatever's to come tomorrow. We don't think it's going to be easy by any means."
The winner of Wednesday's match-up will face either Belgium or Senegal in the last 16.
