The Verdict: With World Cup decisions looming, MLS players heed Pochettino's call

For 94 minutes and 10 seconds, Sebastian Berhalter had been his typical self.He patrolled the midfield for the Vancouver Whitecaps looking to disrupt things. His heat map was a splash of orange stretching from the top arc of his defensive box to the arc of the Portland Timbers’ box.This is what Berhalter does. It’s how he turned himself from a fringe MLS player into an MLS Best XI midfielder last season. And it’s why, when the Timbers turned forward on a counterattack that looked like it might lead to something in the dying seconds, it was Berhalter who came crashing through for what looked like a draw-preserving tackle on forward Felipe Mora.Advertisement