Mauricio Pochettino’s start to life as manager of the US Men’s National Team was fueled by the excitement of finally having a leader with an elite track record.
But the reality of the early returns were somewhat…underwhelming.
Ahead of the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Jamaica on Thursday, there’s no reason to be too extreme.
Pochettino has only overseen two matches in his new role – both friendlies in September – but mixed would probably be the kindest word to describe those two games.
The US started with a 2-0 win against Panama before following that up by losing 2-0 to Mexico and regardless of the importance of the individual match, any time the US is brushed aside by their southern neighbors, an emotional response arrives.
As we head into the November international break, Pochettino’s team face Jamaica twice over the next few days.
No one is demanding miracles overnight, but signs of progress are required.
The first task will be figuring out how to get his team on the front foot from the offset.
Going back to this summer’s Copa America, prior to Pochettino’s arrival, the USMNT have now gone five consecutive matches without scoring a first half goal.
That was the case in Pochettino’s first two matches when his side went into the break 0-0 against Panama and trailing 1-0 against Mexico.
The easiest – and often only way – to quash early nerves is by getting an early goal and for far too long now, the US have found that nearly impossible.
Unsurprisingly it connects to one of their other problems. In both of his first two matches, Pochettino saw his team have the majority of the ball. But in both cases, they struggled to turn that possession into anything concrete.
In the two games, they combined for only five shots on target and 16 shots total, compared to eight on target and 30 total for their two opponents – who both had less than 50% of the ball.
It’s hard to read too much into friendlies where you often only have a portion of your best players available but the US looked far too tame in the October international break, lacking the intensity out of possession that became such a focal point of Pochettino’s style at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.
While he isn’t part of the squad for this international break, the return to fitness of Tyler Adams should help Pochettino while simply having more time to work with his players will no doubt aid in the learning of a relatively complex system.
That missing intensity will be even more crucial this time around as Pochettino takes charge of his first competitive set of matches.
The reality is that expectation is one of the biggest hurdles facing Pochettino. His reputation and resume means that American supporters are expecting and demanding that he hit the ground running immediately. But that ignores the type of manager Pochettino is.
The Argentine is at his best when he has time to work with a group of young players and instill his identity and understanding of the game into his group.
That’s not something that can happen overnight and naturally, that means there will be growing pains. Thankfully for the former Chelsea boss, time is something he should have.
The US still have more than 18 months until the World Cup on home soil and that should allow for ample opportunity to reach the levels required to properly compete.
Pochettino will, however, be grateful that Christian Pulisic, his get-out-of-jail-free card, is back and ready to face Jamaica. The AC Milan star played in Pochettino’s maiden outing but missed the defeat to Mexico.
Pulisic has notched five goals and three assists in 11 Serie A matches this season adding a further two goals and one assist in the Champions League. The Pennsylvania native is enjoying one of the better spells of his career and while no one wants it to be the case, he has the ability to paper over some pretty large cracks should Pochettino’s team come out slow again.
Pulisic isn’t the only one returning to bolster Pochettino’s options. Tim Weah – who will miss the first clash with Jamaica through suspension – is back for the first time since his infamous Copa America red card against Panama.
Joining Weah is Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Real Betis midfielder Johnny Cardoso.
Balogun will be missing for the two-legged tie against Jamaica[/caption]
However, you could argue that those missing are almost equally important as the returnees. As well as the aforementioned Adams, Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargent, and Haji Wright are all unavailable.
This in itself helps explain one of the greatest challenges facing Pochettino. How do you instill consistency and a new footballing identity into an incomplete and constantly changing group? Unfortunately, there isn’t an easy answer to that question but it’s a major reason why the US are paying heavily for a manager of Pochettino’s caliber.
It’s his responsibility to make progress regardless of the completely valid excuses and Americans will be impatiently waiting to see that progress this month.
