The Mauricio Pochettino era begins in earnest this Saturday when the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) faces Panama in a friendly international at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX.
Unveiled last month, Pochettino steps into the hot seat for the first time when Panama comes to town, with a chance of some small revenge on the cards for the USMNT following a humiliating group stage exit at the hands of the same opponent at the recent Copa America.
Panama’s 2-1 victory in June felt like the death knell for Gregg Berhalter’s tenure as USMNT coach, but it has ushered in a new era ahead of the World Cup.
The timing of Pochettino’s appointment means the Argentine manager has less than two years – and only around a dozen international windows – to prepare his troops for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil, meaning that every single game over the next 20 months or so will be vital, including Saturday’s opener against Panama.
Pochettino’s appointment represents his first step into international management and will doubtlessly take some getting used to — namely, the fact that he will not be able to work with his players on a weekly basis.
He may also have to compromise on the style that brought him so much success and praise at Tottenham Hotspur, which involved high-energy soccer that could only really be achieved by working regularly with his players.
Pochettino’s time at Spurs, which saw him guide them to the 2019 Champions League Final and compete in back-to-back title races in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 Premier League seasons, has seen him land jobs at two of the biggest clubs in world soccer: Paris Saint Germain and Chelsea.
However, neither job really went to plan for the newly-appointed US coach.
Handed a transfer war chest that brought in Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, and Achraf Hakimi, among others, Pochettino struggled to balance the collection of superstars and primadonnas that called Paris home and never achieved the same fluidity that he created at Spurs. He did guide PSG to the Ligue 1 title, but whether that can be considered an achievement is another matter considering the financial dominance the Parisians enjoy in France.
His time at Chelsea was even more difficult and marred by frequent clashes with the club’s higher-ups over strategy and squad management. Pochettino was fired two days after the 2023/24 season, an up-and-down campaign that finished better than it started and left Chelsea in sixth place.
His recent struggles at the club level mean that Pochettino will enter the USMNT hot seat with a point to prove.
Therefore, a victory on Saturday night is crucial to starting his new role on the right foot, not least because it would arrest the USMNT’s alarming run of results.
The US has won just one game in seven — a group-stage win over Bolivia at the Copa America — and could use a confidence-booster on Saturday night.
June’s defeat against Panama marked a low point in Berhalter’s tenure, and many of the players who will feature on Saturday night will have a score to settle – not that winning a friendly really makes up for losing in an international tournament, but it will go some way toward getting the US on the right track.
Since the US is one of the three host nations for the upcoming World Cup, Pochettino will not be able to test his players in a competitive environment all that often between now and 2026, except for a smattering of Nations League games and a Gold Cup campaign next summer.
That makes every friendly international vital to Pochettino’s preparations, starting with Saturday night.
