TAMPA, Fla. — The U.S. men’s soccer team closed its year with one of its toughest tests under Mauricio Pochettino, against star-studded Uruguay on Tuesday. And if the opponent’s quality wasn’t enough, Pochettino upped the ante by starting many of his backups to test them.

What resulted was one of the most surprising games not just of Pochettino’s tenure, but for some years with the U.S. program: a 5-1 shellacking by the Americans, with goals from four different scorers.

Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman (twice) and Diego Luna tallied in the first half, and Tanner Tessmann added another in the second before a crowd at Raymond James Stadium that was as stunned as it was thrilled.

As much as the result of any friendly game counts, Pochettino’s lineup changes immediately became the night’s first headline. Just two of the 11 players who started Saturday’s win over Paraguay, right back Sergiño Dest and former Union goalkeeper Matt Freese, remained starters three days later. (The short time between contests was perhaps another factor in Pochettino’s rotation.)

Pochettino took the U.S. back to a 4-3-3 setup, with Union alumni Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty together at centerback, John Tolkin at left back, and Freeman at right back. Aidan Morris was the midfield stopper behind Timothy Tillman and Berhalter; and Luna, Haji Wright and Dest were the front three from left to right.

They faced a Uruguay lineup stacked with marquee names. Barcelona’s Ronald Araújo anchored the back line; Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur and Manchester United’s Manuel Ugarte led the midfield; and Flamengo dynamo Giorgian de Arrascaeta created behind striker Federico Viñas of Spain’s Real Oviedo.

Along with their talents, they were expected to bring Uruguay’s famed garra charúa fighting spirit. Instead, the near-total opposite happened.

Berhalter opened the scoring in the 17th off a free kick trick play, a give-and-go with Dest for a curler from the left side of the 18-yard box. The son of former U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter grabbed his jersey by the badge as he exulted, pointed to it, and aimed an ear to the crowd — perhaps to make a point to his critics.

Freeman doubled the lead four minutes later when he leapt to meet Berhalter’s corner kick and headed it past a stranded Uruguay goalkeeper Cristopher Fiermarin — one of la Celeste’s only inexperienced players, in just his second national team game.

In the 31st minute, Freeman made it 3-0 at the tail end of another corner kick play. After an initial clearance, Freeman ended up on the left side of the field, Trusty sprung him forward, and Freeman — who plays his club soccer 90 minutes west of here in Orlando — split Araújo and Ugarte before shooting.

Luna struck the fourth in the 42nd, set up by Tillman. This really was shocking now, as Uruguay’s stars looked tired and uninterested. It was miles from the standard set by famed manager Marcelo Bielsa, who launched Pochettino’s professional career decades ago at Argentine club Newell’s Old Boys.

This all said, in the moments Uruguay advanced forward, the U.S. defense didn’t exactly look great. It came to a head in first-half stoppage time, when Freese came off his line, nearly crashed into Freeman, recovered, then was stuck at his right post as de Arrascsaeta uncorked a bicycle kick in front of McKenzie. Seven U.S. field players stood in front of Freese at the point when de Arrascaeta launched himself.

Uruguay’s fight showed up in the second half, but not always for the better: Bentancur was ejected with a straight red card in the 65th for upending Berhalter.

Just before then, Pochettino made his first substitutions of the night. Luna, Wright and Dest went out, and Gio Reyna, Folarin Balogun and Tessmann went in. That didn’t all add up as like-for-like swaps, but the end result was a 4-2-3-1 with Berhalter, Reyna and Tillman in front of Morris and Tessmann.

The fifth goal game in the 68th, off another corner kick play. Reyna had the eventual assist with a ball floated from the left wing that Tessmann headed in, with Fiermarin barely contesting the service.

Max Arfsten and Brenden Aaronson entered next, replacing Tolkin — who had been kicked around enough to be injured — and Tillman in the 75th. Cristian Roldan was the last U.S. substitute, replacing Morris in the 86th.

When the clock struck 90 minutes, Guatemalan referee Julio Lune blew the final whistle right away instead of adding stoppage time.

He, like everyone else, had seen quite a sight.

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