Almost everything, from team meetings to training sessions, fell behind schedule during this period. Mauricio PochettinoIt’s his first week at the helm of the U.S. national soccer team. So perhaps it’s no surprise that his players needed a little extra time to show up for their coach’s first match on Saturday, with Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi scoring second-half goals to give the United States a 2–0 victory over Panama.
But what was more important was the way the team played. After launching the Pochettino era with a first half that looked a lot like that Gregg Berhalter Initially – energetic but sloppy and lacking in creativity – the United States managed to do just enough in the second half to claim victory.
“We have demonstrated that we will compete in all phases of the game,” Pochettino said in Spanish. “I am very satisfied. But there are many areas where we can improve.
The United States will conclude Pochettino’s first training camp as coach on Tuesday when they meet Mexico in Guadalajara.
The transformation that Pochettino is tasked with leading will take time. But Saturday was a good start: The victory ended a four-game unbeaten streak, the team’s longest in more than two years. It also gave the Americans their second victory in eight matches, as the two goals matched their most in a match since March.
That slowdown, less than two years before the World Cup returned to the United States, led to Berhalter’s dismissal as coach in July and the hiring of Pochettino in September.
Berhalter’s debut as national team coach also came against Panama – a 3–0 victory in Glendale, Arizona, in January 2019. His departure was then precipitated by a Copa América defeat against Panama in June.
Pochettino’s arrival, meanwhile, raises high expectations, as evidenced by his contract, estimated at $12 million over two years, almost twice the record for an American coach. And Pochettino, the first national team coach hired outside the United States in 33 years, has amassed a track record of success at major clubs in three of Europe’s biggest leagues.
It remains to be seen whether this will translate into success at the national team level. This is why the Argentine coach said that during his first training camp, the focus would be on introducing his team’s new coaching staff while introducing the team to their preferred style of play. .
“A few days of practice with the team, it’s amazing to see how much they focused on trying to follow the plan,” Ponchettino said. “A very professional service. The foundation, you know, the first step to start growing and being better.
Against Panama, Pochettino kept things relatively simple, playing at the back with defender Tim Ream wearing the captain’s armband and Josh Sargent, playing as the sole striker – although he suffered from a lack of service during the most of the first 45 minutes.
The USA were on the front foot from the start, dominating possession from the start and narrowly missing a few dangerous chances in the first 11 minutes. But Panama began to catch up as the match progressed, securing the first two shots on goal when Edgar Bárcenas tested American goalkeeper Matt Turner twice, within minutes of each other, in the middle of the first half.
Musah opened the scoring in the 49th minute, at the end of a six-pass sequence in which five players touched the ball.
It started with a long pass from Ream from inside the US side to Antonee Robinson on the left wing. Robinson then dribbled up and down the sideline to create space before pushing the ball to Christian Pulisic, who took a back-and-forth with Brenden Aaronson that ended with Pulisic sending the ball in front of the goal towards a wide open Musah. . His easy finish earned him his first international goal.
Three minutes later, Turner made another pair of sprawling saves seconds apart to protect the lead. Turner also made a break in the 87th minute when Jose Fajardo got behind the American defense, leaving him with only the goalkeeper to beat, only to push his shot sliding wide of the right post.
Pepi added the exclamation point with an insurance goal four minutes into added time, taking a central pass from Haji Wright in the middle of the area and cleanly beating Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.
“We were very solid on both ends, we created a few chances and also kept the ball out of the net,” Turner said. “The understanding was very good and we remained very compact. So yeah, it was a good night.
“I don’t want to move forward too much. “It’s a building block for the future, because it wasn’t perfect by any means.”
Ream agreed.
“Some things to work on.” But overall, come away with two goals, a win, a clean sheet,” he said. “For his first match, we are quite comfortable.”
Pochettino was missing seven likely starters – including midfielder Tyler Adams and forwards Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun and Gio Reyna – from what would likely be his best lineup, so his transformation necessarily remains a work in progress. The United States used 17 players, but Weston McKennie never came off the bench, with Pochettino saying the midfielder was suffering from minor discomfort. McKennie could play Tuesday in Mexico.