The beginning of the Mauricio Pochettino era is underway with fixtures against Panama and Mexico. The USMNT won the first game 2-0 against Panama, but dropped the match against Mexico 2-0.
How It Happened
The first game against Panama took place on Saturday, October 12th in Austin, Texas and officially kicked off the Pochettino era. Many fans of the USMNT were excited to see what the new manager would bring to the team. Pochettino named a strong XI for his first game despite some regular first choice players being injured and not in camp. Pochettino brought in a new defensive structure for this game, looking to defend in a 5-2-3 with midfielder Yunus Musah becoming the right wing back when the team didn’t have the ball. This ultimately paid off for Yunus Musah and the Americans as he scored his first USMNT goal and the first goal of the Pochettino era in the 49th minute after making a late run into the box from that right wing back position. While the USMNT put on a fairly decent performance, there was some sloppiness playing out of the back and Goalkeeper Matt Turner was called into action on multiple occasions, including a brilliant double save in the 52nd minute. Panama looked to exploit the Americans down the wings and found some success, nearly grabbing an equalizer in the 87th minute. Ricardo Pepi would seal the game in the 94th minute with a tap in from a stellar Haji Wright cross.
The second game against Mexico took place in hostile territory at the Estadio Akron in Zapopan, Mexico. This game was going to be a big test for the USMNT having played most of their recent games on home soil or at neutral venues. Before the match, five USMNT players, including Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, left camp to return to their clubs either due to injury and minute management. The departure of key stars would open the door for Mexico’s attack. The Americans started off slowly which led to a freekick in a dangerous position from a sloppy foul in Mexico’s attack that Raul Jimenez placed perfectly into the top corner past Matt Turner, giving Mexico a 1-0 lead. Shortly after the start of the second half, Tim Ream attempted to dribble his way out of trouble, but ended up turning the ball over leading to a Mexico goal which made it 2-0. The USMNT lacked the control in the midfield to really take over the game. These kinds of growing pains are expected with a new manager, but it always stings losing to bitter rivals Mexico.
What’s Next
These friendlies served as an important first step in the Pochettino era, but next month kicks off the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals. The USMNT’s opponent will be Jamaica, which is a good test to see what this team is capable of against better opposition. There are still some kinks to work out in the team, but this start is something to build upon for matches next month. By then these players will have had a full camp under Pochettino and will be more familiar and comfortable with what he expects from the team.
Pochettino has given us a glimpse of the style that he wants to implement with this team. In the next camp, he can really get his style and tactics across to the players, as this October session he was able to meet the players and finally get to see them up close. He started forging personal connections with the players, and that will go a long way, but he will also need to start implementing his ideas to a greater effect. Pochettino showed he’s not afraid to use different systems, going with three defenders against Panama, and switching to a back four against Mexico. This will benefit the team going forward and will provide some tactical fluidity and lead to less rigid approaches going forward. Pochettino will need to plan what he wants to do and what players he wants for the quarterfinal tie against a solid Jamaican squad. This will be a real test for the new manager and his squad and it will be interesting to see what squad he selects and what he decides to do with them.
The USMNT will play the first leg of the tie on November 14th in Kingston, Jamaica before traveling to St. Louis to play the second leg on November 18th.
