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USA Soccer is BACK: Pochettino’s Reign Begins with a Win

John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF. Getty Images.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Mauricio Pochettino era of U.S. soccer is officially underway, and guess what? We actually won! The boys took care of business with a 2-0 victory over Panama, and even though it wasn’t exactly 1970s Brazil out there, it was nice to see us play competent soccer for once.  Look, I know it’s just Panama—no offense to our neighbors, but they’re not exactly striking fear into the hearts of anyone outside of CONCACAF. But let’s not be buzzkills here. We’ve seen U.S. teams struggle against way worse opponents. Remember that time we lost to Trinidad & Tobago and missed the World Cup? Yeah, let’s not go down that memory lane again. 

There was a lot of curiosity about how Poch would line up the squad. Would he throw in some spicy tactics? A high press? But, to be honest, it was all pretty straightforward—solid formation, no glaring tactical disasters, and shockingly disciplined play. It’s early days, but you could tell Pochettino’s influence is already kicking in. 

Most importantly, the boys actually looked like they wanted to be on the pitch. I don’t know what Poch said to them in training, or if it had to do with the fact that they finally spent more than an hour on the practice pitch, but whatever it was, it worked. Everyone was running, pressing, and passing the ball like they had something to prove. I don’t want to jump the gun, but this was the most organized we’ve looked since Landon Donovan was Captain America.

Look, I’m not saying we’re going to win the World Cup just because we beat Panama, but it’s a nice start. And more importantly, it feels like there’s hope again. We’ve got Poch at the wheel, and if there’s anyone who can turn this program around, it’s him. 

Next up, we’ve got bigger challenges, tomorrow night we play our amigos across the border. And in my opinion, it’s one of the best rivalries in all of soccer, although we will be without the likes of Marlon Fossey, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen I'm still excited to see how the boys perform tomorrow night. But for now, let’s enjoy this rare moment of competence. After years of watching disjointed play and wondering if we even like soccer, it’s refreshing to finally see a team with potential. 

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One game down. A lot more to go. But for the first time in a while, I feel pretty good about where we’re headed. Poch, you beautiful man, welcome to the world of American soccer.