The Pochettino era of Panama x USA football begins, with an eye on the 2026 World Cup | football news

Pochettino advised patience. The coach, his coaching staff and the players spent the week not only training, but also performing.

Success will be measured by how the coaching staff and players know each other, are organized and send a clear message of expectations from the coaching staff to the players.

Of course, football is about competition and winning. Our fans definitely want to win,” Pochettino said on Friday. “At the same time, the entire organization, our first contact with the players, has to understand that we cannot force too much. …We need to give the team time to adapt to us.

Panama beat the United States in the Copa América in July after receiving a red card in the 18th minute for punching an opponent. The USA have only won once in Mexico, in a friendly at the Estadio Azteca in 2012.

Weah is among several injured players who will miss these matches, including Sergio Dest, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun, and occasional starters Johnny Cardoso and Chris Richards.

The United States is an automatic qualifier for the 2026 World Cup, along with Mexico and Canada as co-hosts. Pochettino's task is to take the United States to a tournament where it has not reached the quarter-finals since 2002 and the semi-finals since 1930.

The 52-year-old Argentine coached Spanish teams Espanyol (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19) and Chelsea (2023-24) in England and Paris Saint-Germain (2021) in France. -22), leaving the team after winning the league title with Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar.

But this is the first time he has led a national team. He is the first foreign coach of the U.S. national team since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011-16.

The challenge for us is to build a team, said Pochettino.

Pochettino's first list includes Christian Pulisic, who scored five goals in seven Serie A games for AC Milan this season and became the first American to score in four consecutive games in Europe's top five leagues since Queens Park Rangers' Roy Wegerle. in September 1990.

Pochettino considered Pulisic one of the best attacking players in the world in his current form.

It's good to hear. I still have a long way to go to reach the top, the very top. I think I’m on the right track,” said Pulisic.

But he also played a lot and Pochettino said Pulisic arrived at the training ground tired.

Goalkeeper Jack Steffen, a surprise omission from Berhalter's 2022 World Cup squad, is back after reviving his career at Colorado following a disappointing spell at Manchester City.

Pulisic and other players used the word intense to describe their first training camp under Pochettino.

Each coach has a different style. The training has definitely been intense… which has been good. I think we have to figure out exactly how we want to play, Pulisic said.

What are the expectations for the next two games?

I don't like having expectations. Of course we want to go out and get results. We want to win both games, said Pulisic. But the main thing is to get to know each other and feel comfortable as a team and players and confident to advance to bigger events.

The oldest player on the squad, 37-year-old defender Tim Ream, said the players are ready to enjoy this week.

The message is that he wants to win, right? (Pochettino) has his principles, his ideas, but at the end of the day what matters is winning, said Reim. And you know, it's important to have that mindset. It's important to carry that mentality forward and lead in these games and beyond.