In Austin, Texas on October 13th, the United States Mens National Soccer Team defeated Panama 2-0 as Mauricio Pochettino’s first game in charge of the side.
It was a first glance at the new coaching regime for the United States. While the overall performance of the match left more to be desired from the hosts, Pochettino couldn’t have been happier with how the match turned out.
“To be honest, it was a very professional performance,” said the Argentinian in his post-match press conference. “Of course I am happy, the staff and the players did an incredible job. The help of the fans here in Austin was fantastic.”
He also said he was happy with how well the squad executed his game plan despite the fact he only had a few days to train with them prior to the match.
“It’s very obvious we wanted to dominate. The team we are facing against has been working more than four years. (A) very athletic, very good team. It was going to be difficult. I think we controlled it well the first half, we didn’t concede a chance. It was a professional performance. It was the first step to start to grow and be better.”
It wasn’t the easiest going for the USMNT. Panama responded well in the second half, forcing the US into sloppy play passages and making US goalkeeper Matt Turner make an excellent double save. Yunus Musah scored the first goal for the US, and it was his first-ever international goal. The smile on his face alone tells the story of how much it meant to him. Ricardo Pepi killed the game off by scoring the second goal in the dying minutes of the match to secure the 2-0 win.
Now, Pochettino and the USMNT are planning to face Mexico on October 15th, which will surely be a bigger test than Panama considering their rivalry status. Mexico themselves have hired a new coach in Javier Aguirre, so both sides will get the chance to have an early look at their teams in a more high-stakes matchup. While the USA was lucky not to concede a goal vs Panama due to their weakness in defensive transition, the team will look to solidify in the back to ensure more defensive prowess.
