Mauricio Pochettino era for U.S. men’s soccer begins with win over Panama
AUSTIN, Texas — Most everything from team meetings to training sessions has been running late during Mauricio Pochettino’s first week in charge of the U.S. national soccer team. So perhaps it should be no surprise that his players needed a little extra time to show up for their coach’s first game Saturday, with Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi scoring second-half goals to give the U.S. a 2-0 win over Panama.
Of more importance, however, was how the team played. After kicking off the Pochettino Era with a first half that looked a lot like the Gregg Berhalter one — energetic but sloppy and lacking in creativity — the U.S. was able to do just enough in the second half to get the win.
“We demonstrated we’re going to compete in all phases of the game,” Pochettino said in Spanish. “I’m very satisfied. But there are many places where we can improve.”
The U.S. will conclude Pochettino’s first training camp as coach Tuesday when it meets Mexico in Guadalajara.
New U.S. soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino has led sharper and more intense workouts ahead of his first match Saturday in Austin.
The transformation Pochettino has been tasked with leading will take time. But Saturday was a good start — the win snapped a four-game unbeaten streak, the team’s longest in more than two years. It also gave the Americans just their second victory in eight matches, while the two goals matched their most in a game since March.
That slump, less than two years before the World Cup returns to the U.S., led to Berhalter’s dismissal as coach in July and Pochettino’s hiring in September.
Berhalter’s national team coaching debut also came against Panama — a 3-0 win in Glendale, Ariz., in January 2019. His departure was then hastened by a Copa América loss to Panama in June.
Pochettino’s arrival, meanwhile, brings with it great expectations, as evidenced by his contract, reported to be worth $12 million over two years, nearly twice the record for a U.S. coach. And Pochettino, the first national team coach hired from outside the U.S. in 33 years, came with a résumé of success at major clubs in three of Europe’s top leagues.
Whether that will translate to success at the national team level remains to be seen, which is why the Argentine coach said the emphasis in his first training camp would be on introducing the new coaching staff to his team while introducing the team to its preferred playing style.
“A few days on the training with the team, it’s amazing the way that they were focused on concentrating to try to follow the plan,” Ponchettino said. “A very professional performance. The basis for, you know, the first step to start to grow and be better.”
Against Panama, Pochettino kept things relatively simple, playing out of the back with defender Tim Ream wearing the captain’s armband and Josh Sargent, playing as the lone striker — although he suffered from a lack of service through most of the opening 45 minutes.
The U.S. was on the front foot from the start, dominating possession early and just missing on a couple of dangerous chances in the opening 11 minutes. But Panama began to catch up as the game wore on, getting the first two shots on goal when Edgar Bárcenas tested U.S. keeper Matt Turner twice, minutes apart, midway through the first half.
Musah broke open the game in the 49th minute at the end of a six-pass sequence in which five players touched the ball.
It started with a long Ream pass from inside the U.S. end to Antonee Robinson on the left wing. Robinson then dribbled up and back along the touchline to create space before pushing the ball toward Christian Pulisic, who worked a give-and-go with Brenden Aaronson that ended with Pulisic sending the ball across the front of the goal to a wide-open Musah. His easy finish gave him his first international goal.
Three minutes later Turner made another pair of sprawling saves seconds apart to protect the lead. Turner also caught a break in the 87th minute when Jose Fajardo got behind the U.S. defense, leaving him with just the keeper to beat, only to push his sliding shot wide of the right post.
Pepi added the exclamation point with an insurance goal four minutes into stoppage time, taking a centering pass from Haji Wright in the middle of the box and beating Panamanian keeper Orlando Mosquera cleanly.
U.S. men’s soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino says he is focused on gradually implementing changes while delivering a fun style of play for fans.
“We were really solid on both ends, created some chances, and also kept the ball out of the net,” Turner said. “The understanding was very good and we stayed very compact. So, yeah, it was a good night.
“I don’t want to get way too ahead of ourselves. It’s a building block for the future, because it by no means was perfect.”
Ream agreed.
“Some things to work on. But overall, to come away with two goals, a win, a clean sheet,” he said. “For his first game, we’re pretty heavy comfortable.”
Pochettino was missing seven likely starters — among them midfielder Tyler Adams and forwards Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun and Gio Reyna — from what likely would be his best lineup, so his transformation necessarily remains a work in progress. The U.S. used 17 players, but Weston McKennie never left the bench, with Pochettino saying the midfielder had some minor discomfort. McKennie could play Tuesday in Mexico.
