by AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. men’s national team debut came to life after 48 minutes, and the man who gave him the impetus he needed wasn’t the savior coach; It was the star who had to drive Pochettino’s restart: Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic scored in a friendly against Panama on Saturday that was largely goalless in the first half and was very reminiscent of the Gregg Berhalter era of the USMNT. “Actually, I didn’t feel too many changes,” said Panama coach Thomas Christiansen after the game.
But the decisive moment came shortly after half-time. It started with nine rounds of patients. Tim Ream pinged a tenth over the top, bottom left. The ball then landed at Pulisic, who weaved his way into the penalty area with a great one-two with Brenden Aaronson. And with the 14th pass of the attack, Pulisic set up Yunus Musah for the opening goal of the game – and Musah’s first for the national team.
In second-half stoppage time, Ricardo Pepi added a second goal and the USMNT secured a 2-0 victory.
The performance was by no means perfect or dynamic, but “I think it is the foundation and the first step to grow and get better,” Pochettino said.
Before and after the goals, the USMNT was unremarkable. Pochettino called it a “professional performance.” The players sounded pleased, but “it’s obviously still a work in progress,” said veteran defender Tim Ream. After all, it was Pochettino’s first game, after his very first week of training.
And the starting lineup was inevitably experimental – with seven regular players injured and missing. An eighth, Weston McKennie, was on the bench due to undisclosed ailments. “We want to protect him,” said Pochettino. The physical problem was minor, he added, but “we didn’t want to take any chances.”
Instead, Aaronson, Gianluca Busio and Aidan Morris were the starting midfielders. After several years as a central midfielder, Musah played almost exclusively on the right side under Berhalter. Pochettino said the reason was to allow Musah to “build his confidence by starting in a different position” with less “responsibility in building up”.
Pochettino’s selected 11 players were energetic and quickly pressed Panama. They carried out several counterattacks after setbacks in the attacking half – and they want to do more of them. “Against the ball, I think we can still agree on how we want to apply pressure and win balls back,” Pulisic said.
Ream added: “In the first half the pressing in the attacking half was a bit disjointed at times. But here too we haven’t really worked on it yet.”
The other problem was that, as was often the case under Berhalter, they lacked penetration in the final third – particularly in the Panama penalty area.
The difference, however, was the winger, who Pochettino recently described as “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 flies,” Musah, his teammate for club and country, said on Friday. And he brought the form to the Q2 stadium on Saturday.
He is without a doubt the most important player in the Pochettino project. If there is a revolution, Pulisic will certainly lead it. He was a “fantastic player,” Pochettino said on Friday, “a player who will help take the team to the place we want now and in the future.”
And a day later, Pochettino’s first game brought the point.
Other US players were active. Aaronson, deployed as an attacking midfielder, was a nuisance – and exactly the kind of pressing maniac Pochettino will love. Aidan Morris was imperfect but often clean on the ball and steadfast against it. Antonee Robinson was a buccaneer on the left as always.
However, none of them had the quality to find an incisive pass or take advantage of one or two chances. Josh Sargent missed the USMNT’s best chance of the first half. In the second half, before stoppage time, Panama had the best chances – and US goalkeeper Matt Turner was equal to every one of them.
It wasn’t until the 94th minute that Haji Wright set up Pepi for another golden goal. Pepi sealed the deal. And Pochettino ended the evening by clapping the fans, who serenaded him with a simple chant: “Poch-e-tti-no! Poch-e-tti-no!”
Next up for the U.S. is a friendly against Mexico in Guadalajara on Tuesday. This will be a tougher test for Pochettino and the Americans in many ways. It will be, said Pochettino, “a very complicated game.”
