AUSTIN, Texas – Mauricio Pochettino made his debut for the United States men's national team after 48 minutes, and the man who delivered the necessary shock wasn't the savior coach; it was the star who will have to drive the Pochettino restartChristian Pulisic.
Pulisic facilitated Saturday's friendly against Panama, which was reminiscent of the USMNT's Gregg Berhalter era for much of a goalless first half. “I really didn't feel a lot of change,” Panama coach Thomas Christiansen said after the match.
However, just after the break there was a decisive moment. It started with nine patient passes. Tim Ream singled the 10th up, down the left side. Then the ball went into the hands of Pulisic, who broke into the penalty area after an impressive pass to Brenden Aaronson to make it 1-2. With his fourteenth attacking pass, Pulisic set up Yunus Musah for the first goal of the match, and Musah's first goal for the national team.
In the added time of the second half, Ricardo Pepi added a second one, and… USMNT secured a 2-0 victory.
The performance was by no means perfect or dynamic, but “I think it's the basis and the first step to start developing and getting better,” Pochettino said.
Before and after the goals, the USMNT was unremarkable. Pochettino called it a “professional performance”. The players seemed happy, but “obviously it's just a work in progress,” veteran defenseman Tim Ream said. After all, it was Pochettino's first match after the first week of training.
The starting lineup was necessarily experimental, with seven regular players injured and missing. The eighth, Weston McKennie, was left on the bench due to undisclosed discomfort. “We want to protect him,” Pochettino said. He added that the physical problem was minor, but “we didn't want to take any chances.”
Instead, the starting midfielders were Aaronson, Gianluca Busio and Aidan Morris. Musah, after many years as a central midfielder, played almost exclusively on the right side under Berhalter. Pochettino said the reason was to allow Musah to “build confidence by starting in a different position” with less “responsibility for preparation.”
Pochettino's starting 11 was energetic and pressed Panama quickly. After receiving tackles in attack, they conducted several counter-attacks and want to do it more often. “I think against the ball we can still figure out some things, the way we want to press and win the ball back,” Pulisic said.
Ream added: “The attacking press was a bit disjointed at times in the first half. But again, we didn't fully work on it.”
The other problem was that, as was often the case under Berhalter, they ran out of steam in the final third, especially in the Panama penalty box.
The difference, however, was the winger, whom Pochettino recently called “one of the best attacking players in the world.”
Pulisic is in the form of his life for AC Milan in Italy. He is the best striker in Serie A. “He's flying great,” said Musah, his club and national teammate, on Friday. And on Saturday he brought his form to the Q2 stadium.
He is undoubtedly the most important player of Pochettino's project. If there is a revolution, Pulisic will certainly lead it. He is a “fantastic player,” Pochettino said on Friday, “a player who will help now and in the future to put the team where we want it to be.”
And a day later, Pochettino's first match sealed victory.
Other US players were active. Aaronson, deployed as an attacking midfielder, was a pest – exactly the type of pressing maniac that Pochettino would love. Aidan Morris was imperfect, but he kept the ball often and was strong on the ball. Antonee Robinson was, as usual, a buccaneer on the left wing.
However, none of them had enough quality to make an accurate pass or finish an odd chance. Josh Sargent missed the USMNT's best opportunity in the first half. In the second quarter, before added time, Panama had the best chances, and each of them was equalized by American goalkeeper Matt Turner.
It was only in the 94th minute that Haji Wright gave Pepi another gold medal. Pepi sealed the deal. Pochettino ended the evening by clapping to the fans, who sang him a simple chant: “Poch-e-tti-no! Poch-e-tti-no!”
The U.S.'s next game is Tuesday's friendly against Mexico in Guadalajara. In many ways, this will be a tougher test for Pochettino and the Americans. It will be, Pochettino said, “a very complicated match.”
