The clock is ticking, and after his first few training sessions and team talks, Mauricio Pochettino is ready for his first USMNT match. The opponent will be Panama, who shocked the US at the Copa America with a 2-1 win that virtually left the team hanging by a thread before being eliminated by Uruguay and getting grouped in the tournament that was meant to be a coming-out party for the national team.
Since the Panama defeat, the USMNT has gone winless in three games, with a draw against New Zealand and defeats to Uruguay and Canada. Now there is a new manager and a change of atmosphere around the team.
Tim Ream has already given insights on Mauricio Pochettino’s training sessions: “It’s intense. We had a pretty long session; I’d say one of the longer ones with the national team setup. Just working on basics, looked at a few things from yesterday’s training and reviewed that. As a result, they worked on some movement things—connecting with the backline, and the midfielders and the attackers all went together and worked on a few things. Just really getting their ideas into our heads, into our understanding to make sure that we’re all on the same page going forward.”
Who Could Start for the USMNT in Mauricio Pochettino’s First Match?
Mauricio Pochettino is known for favoring a 4-2-3-1 formation, although he has also employed variations like 4-3-3 and 3-4-2-1 during his managerial career. His teams typically emphasize high pressing, fluid attacking play, and a strong focus on ball possession.
Given that it’s his first match, look for the manager to keep it simple and most likely put out a 4-3-3. The possible starting XI could look like this: Patrick Schulte, Joe Scally, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Aidan Morris, Weston McKennie, Brenden Aaronson, Haji Wright, Josh Sargent, and Christian Pulisic.
Look for players like Gianluca Busio, Yunus Musah, and Marlon Fossey to get major looks as well. The USMNT plays Panama on October 12th in Austin, Texas.