New USMNT coach shares philosophy for making team a contender in 2026 World Cup
Mauricio Pochettino has a lot of work to do to turn around the U.S. Men’s National Team before America hosts the 2026 World Cup. “Poch” walks us through his plans.
The U.S. men’s national team faced its first competitive match under Mauricio Pochettino, and while it wasn’t one to write home about, it was a win.
The USMNT offered a throwback, defeating Jamaica 1-0 in the first leg of a Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal, claiming victory in Kingston thanks to a very early goal from Ricardo Pepi, a penalty-kick save from goalkeeper Matt Turner, and a spectacular defensive play from Yunus Musah.
Christian Pulisic, however, stood out as the USMNT’s best player, setting up Pepi’s winner and offering the majority of the attacking impetus for Pochettino’s side despite taking a never-ending series of fouls. On a field that was never going to allow for “the beautiful game” to break out, it was enough to put the U.S. in pole position heading into Monday’s second leg in St. Louis.
As a reminder, here’s our scale for these ratings:
1: Abysmal. Literally any member of Pro Soccer Wire’s staff would have been been able to play at this level.6: Adequate. This is our base score.10: Transcendent, era-defining performance. This is Maradona vs. England in 1986.GK: Matt Turner – 7
Thursday certainly didn’t get off to an ideal start for Turner, who couldn’t quite arrive to shut Shamar Nicholson down after Tim Ream and Mark McKenzie both failed to stop the Spartak Moscow striker, conceding an early penalty kick to cap off a series of errors for the USMNT.
However, Turner completely redeemed himself (while bailing out several teammates) by confidently blocking Demarai Gray’s powerfully-struck spot kick:
Turner wasn’t exactly busy from there, despite Jamaica’s 12-6 shot advantage, but he did handle two particularly tricky moments in the second half. First, the Crystal Palace back-up did very well to avoid conceding a Leon Bailey olimpico in the 67th minute, and he was alert to head away a potentially dangerous ball in behind from Andre Blake in the 75th.
RB: Joe Scally – 6.5
Scally had a turnover that set the dominos tumbling on the sequence that ended with Turner’s penalty save, but from there he was solid, if untested by Gray (who disappointed before being hauled off at the break). On the plus side, Scally was very reliable on a bad surface, connecting 61 of 68 pass attempts. That helped the USMNT to use possession as a defensive tool, leaving Jamaica frustrated in the first half and in the late stages.
On the other hand, for a player who tends to do well in physical matches, he was a bit subdued as the U.S. endured plenty of pressure. That might have been a positive given how combustible this game seemed to be, but a rugged challenge earlier in the match might have served as a statement as well.
CB: Mark McKenzie – 6.5
This was a mixed bag for McKenzie, who seemed comfortable making obvious-but-difficult plays, but did seem hesitant whenever he had to solve a problem with his decision-making. He looked worse than anyone in the mess that became the penalty, and struggled in the first half in anticipating Nicholson’s movement.
However, his second half was more confident, including one timely block that may have saved a goal, and he made some quietly tricky plays (particularly sorting long balls from Jamaica) as the game wore on. If the last 45 were his full 90, McKenzie’s rating would get a solid bump.
CB: Tim Ream – 6.5
First, let’s get the big one out of the way: the Charlotte FC veteran appeared to get away with what was very likely a handling offense during the worst spell of Jamaica pressure. The call was missed in real time, and Bailey’s hurry to take the ensuing corner kick may have wiped away the VAR crew’s opportunity to actually take a look. Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
As for the rest of the match, Ream had a rather similar night to McKenzie’s. The U.S. captain fell for a FIFA-style spin move from Nicholson on the sequence that became the Jamaica penalty, and a few minutes later opted to step too late and too far into the midfield. Referee Juan Gabriel Calderón gave the advantage after Ream caught Nicholson on a play that normally guarantees a yellow card, but then appeared to forget to actually come back and hand out the booking.
As the game went on though, Ream’s reliable passing was a big help, as the USMNT used the ball to defuse a worrisome game.
LB: Antonee Robinson – 6.5
As usual, the Fulham fullback’s overlapping threat was critical in possession, providing essentially all of the width (which in turn allowed Pochettino to pack his midfield with fighters). However, Robinson struggled on the ball, with Sofascore noting that he had 19 turnovers, attempted just one cross, and uncharacteristically offered zero key passes.
Still, to Robinson’s credit more than anyone else, Bailey struggled to make an impact outside of dead ball situations, and given the nature of this game — away in a two-legged tie, a bad pitch, and with Pochettino clearly choosing a grind-it-out approach — that matters more for a left back.
RCDM: Johnny Cardoso – 6.5
Cardoso bordered on a “no rating” kind of night after being forced off with an injury in the 21st minute, but he was quietly having a good start in a No. 6 role. The Real Betis man connected all 14 of his passes, threw in a successful dribble, and won the two duels he got into (one on the ground, one in the air).
Malik Tillman ended up replacing Cardoso after what appeared to be a lower-leg issue ended the 23-year-old’s night early.
LCDM: Tanner Tessmann – 7
The Lyon midfielder had a quietly effective night, completing 92% of his passes and routinely looking to open the field up for his teammates. Tessmann lost just one duel in an 87-minute performance (his first-ever USMNT start), winning three fouls.
Generally speaking, Tessmann used his angles and body position to make the game easy for himself and others, and with the U.S. clearly in Jamaica for a result rather than to put on a show, this sort of tidy performance will catch Pochettino’s eye.
RW: Yunus Musah – 7
Musah was not highly involved in a narrow role on the right side of the USMNT midfield. Ideally, this set-up would see Musah providing the width opposite Robinson, but he spent much of this game adding one more number in a central overload.
Thanks in part to a lack of a wide threat on the Reggae Boyz’s left flank — Greg Leigh was in defense-first mode as a wingback in the first half, while center back Amari’i Bell was never really going to offer much going forward once asked to play there — that responsibility made sense, if also contributing to a rather boring first half.
However, the play Musah will be remembered for the most here is a remarkable, goal-saving tackle to deny Mason Holgate. Despite being behind the Jamaica defender, Musah managed to somehow cleanly nick the ball away inside the six-yard box on a play that otherwise would have been a sure equalizer for the hosts.
That’s worth as much as a goal for the USMNT, especially given the results first, second, and third approach on the night.
AM: Weston McKennie – 6
Generally one would expect McKennie to thrive in a physical game that was much more about mentality than anything else, but his 71 minutes on Thursday were rather subdued. Out of possession, the Juventus midfielder was the No. 10, but once the USMNT got on the ball he regularly dropped off or moved into whatever space he needed to to allow Pulisic to surge forward as an attacker.
It was a bit of a thankless role, which is a strange ask given how much of an impact McKennie tends to have, but few people understand Pulisic’s movement better. Down in the data, there are some positives (two key passes, level with Pulisic for the team lead), but McKennie won just one of his six duels.
Overall, it was a humdrum night from a player who the USMNT needs more from to truly dominate games.
LW: Christian Pulisic – 7.5
Pulisic, often slashing inside from the left, was decisive in creating the first goal. What was a methodical spell of possession instantly became a real threat after Pulisic turned suddenly to drive at the Jamaica back line before dishing to Ricardo Pepi to enter the box and score. He’s the only player in the pool offering this combination of a read for what the moment needs, the quick feet to make it happen, and the bravery to actually choose to do it.
From there, Pulisic might have felt like he was a movie stunt man rather than a soccer player, as he was tugged, kicked, shoved, pushed, and barged all over the field by the Reggae Boyz, who noted Calderón’s permissive refereeing and took full advantage. That nearly proved costly as the AC Milan star retaliated with a shove on Damion Lowe after the defender had been booked, sparking a minor scuffle, but ultimately Pulisic paid no price for letting his understandable frustrations boil over.
ST: Ricardo Pepi – 6.5
This is a big window for Pepi, and while it was great that he got his goal, it’s going to take more to seize this opening. Let’s start with the good: however scruffy Pepi’s early finish was on the comically overgrown grass at the National Stadium, what really matters is the smart run put him in such a good position that it didn’t matter.
However, this was pretty much it from Pepi, who offered little out of possession (he won just one of five duels), lost possession five times, added no further shot attempts, and wasn’t a hold-up presence. Without offering something in the air, or back-to-goal play, or in pressing phases, it was a bit of a surprise that Mauricio Pochettino waited so long to insert someone else.
Coach: Mauricio Pochettino – 6.5
Pochettino promised results and said that it would start with fight, and this might be what that looks like at times. Fans may associate the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain manager with innovative, elegant attacking play, but that’s in a league format with consistent time on the training pitch.
The tactically buttoned-down, “we have food at home” approach the USMNT took to Kingston on Thursday read far more like the kind of hard-won knowledge Pochettino picked up as a player battling through CONMEBOL brawls. As a visitor in competitive play, you’re there to win the game, and if the away fans go home irritated, so be it.
Pochettino’s lineup won’t thrill many U.S. fans, with the team leaning heavily into grit, but Pepi’s early goal played perfectly into that intention. Jamaica didn’t get into the game in the first half-hour outside of the penalty (a self-inflicted wound if there ever was one), which counts as an unglamorous success in two-legged ties.
There were issues, as the USMNT waited too long to respond to Jamaica’s move into a 4-3-3 at halftime. That let the Reggae Boyz back into the match, and to reiterate, it took a big no-call and a near-miracle tackle from Musah to keep the shutout. Jamaica will have every right to feel aggrieved at leaving this game with a loss.
That said, when Pochettino’s moves came, they helped. A move into a 4-4-2 with a higher line of contention but a less urgent press befuddled Jamaica to such an extent that the crowd turned on the hosts, and realistically Brandon Vazquez should have fired home a second on one of several counter-attacking breaks forward.
In other words, this was old-school USMNT soccer, and while some good fortune was involved, it did get the job done.
Sub: Malik Tillman – 6.5
Tillman was an unexpectedly early sub, stepping in for Cardoso in the 21st minute. Curiously, Pochettino deployed the PSV playmaker in a deep role rather than shifting McKennie or Musah into that spot.
Tillman clearly sensed that the first half was drifting towards a game of kick ball at times, and looked to settle play down by hitting the pause button and inviting an extra run. His 38-for-41 passing was a plus given the field conditions and physical play, and the requisite effort levels were there.
On the down side, Tillman was (like many U.S. players on the night) unable to win most of his duels, and at times his focus levels out of possession seemed to drift. Mostly though, the concept of Tillman in a deep-lying role doesn’t appear to have unlocked anything special, something PSV learned barely a week ago.
Sub: Brandon Vazquez – 6
The Monterrey striker came on for Pepi after 71 minutes, and offered precisely the kind of polarizing game that forwards have produced forever.
Optimists will note his movement and willingness to run meant he escaped Jamaican markers regularly, and that he earned himself two very good chances in what was a 19-minute appearance. Vazquez also drew the yellow that got Holgate sent off, though that was at least partially just a bad choice from the West Brom defender.
On the other hand, poor execution saw Vazquez make the wrong choice in a golden chance to bury the game in the 83rd minute, and he then offered a meek, mis-hit shot mere seconds later after a Jamaica error gave him another opportunity on a platter.
Sub: Gianluca Busio – 6.5
Busio replaced McKennie after 71 minutes, and likely boosted his stock in a short window. Mainly, Busio offered what Pochettino’s game plan required: smart angles, a willingness to do a lot of dirty work, and a savvy read on Jamaica’s intentions.
The Venezia man was very disruptive, obstructing the Reggae Boyz and slowing their build-up to a crawl when joining Vazquez up front in the aforementioned 4-4-2 defensive shape.
Sub: Auston Trusty – NR
Trusty came on for Tessmann in the 87th minute, leaving him little time to make an impact. It is worth noting that the Celtic defender ended up playing as a true left back, with Robinson moving up a line as the USMNT looked to seal off a win.
Sub: Alex Zendejas – NR
The Club América winger came on for Musah in the 87th minute, taking over at right wing for the game’s final minutes.
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Publish date : 2024-11-13 15:00:00
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