PREVIEW: Mauricio Pochettino To Make USMNT Head Coach Debut As Team Hosts Panama in Austin, Texas on Saturday

CHICAGO (Oct. 11, 2024) — A new era for the U.S. Men’s National Team begins Saturday evening in Austin, Texas, where the USMNT and new manager Mauricio Pochettino will face Panama in U.S. Soccer’s Hispanic Heritage Match, presented by AT&T, at Q2 Stadium.

Tickets can be purchased [here], and broadcast coverage of the match will be available on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Max, Peacock, and Fútbol de Primera Radio. Kickoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.

This October international window also features a friendly showdown with Mexico on Oct. 15 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Panama (No. 37) and Mexico (No. 17) are the highest Concacaf nations in FIFA’s most recent ranking (along with the 18th-ranked USA).

Panama, the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup runner-up, has developed into a consistent regional contender under coach Thomas Christiansen and is unbeaten in its past two games against the USMNT.

Fans can also follow the Panama match via Facebook X @USMNT, Instagram @USMNT and the official U.S. Soccer App.

DETAILED USMNT ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 29/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 45/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Marlon Fossey (Standard Liège/BEL; 1/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 5/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 14/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 62/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 46/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 29/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 12/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 2/0)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 44/8), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 13/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 56/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 7/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 41/0), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais/FRA; 2/0), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 14/0)

FORWARDS (6): Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 30/10), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 73/31), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 25/5), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey/MEX; 8/4), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 13/4), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 7/1)

THE NEW COACHING STAFF

Following his September hiring, new head coach Mauricio Pochettino will be on the USMNT bench for the first time on Saturday in Austin. Pochettino, 52, has earned worldwide renown for his managerial work at top-tier clubs in Spain, France and England (most recently Chelsea), but this is the Argentine’s first foray into national team coaching. His most recent match as a head coach was Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth on May 19, 2024. The Blues concluded their 2023-24 Premier League campaign with five consecutive victories and a sixth-place finish. Pochettino and the club parted ways two days later.

Among the highlights of Pochettino’s managerial career: His first head coaching job was at Espanyol, where in January 2009 he was named his former club’s third coach of the 2008-09 season. In mid-February, Espanyol was at the bottom of La Liga. But they surged to 10th, and that run included a 2-1 win over Barcelona’s legendary sextuple-winning side at the Camp Nou. In his one season at Southampton, 2013-14, Pochettino guided the Saints to eighth in the Premier League, their highest finish since an eighth-place showing in 2002-03.

At Tottenham, Pochettino took Spurs to second in the Premier League in 2016-17—their best performance since 1963—and their first and only UEFA Champions League final in 2019. He then won the Coupe de France (2021) and Ligue 1 (2021-22) at Paris Saint-Germain before moving on to Chelsea.

Pochettino’s international experience came as a defender for his native Argentina in 1999-2002, when he earned 20 caps, scored two goals and appeared at the 1999 Copa América and 2002 FIFA World Cup. He also played the full 90 minutes in June 1999 friendlies against Mexico (a 2-2 draw) and the USA (a 1-0 loss in Washington, D.C. on a goal by Joe-Max Moore).

U.S. Soccer and Pochettino announced the appointment of his staff on Oct. 7. Long-time colleague Jesús Pérez, a Spaniard who worked with Pochettino at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, is the USMNT’s first assistant coach. Miguel “Miki” D’Agostino, a former teammate of Pochettino at Argentina’s Newell’s Old Boys, also has worked with him at each European stop and will continue to do so as an assistant with the USA. Before joining forces with Pochettino in 2009, D’Agostino coached in France for Stade Brestois and in the United Arab Emirates for Dubai CSC.

Antonio “Toni” Jiménez, who enjoyed a long playing career in La Liga and won a gold medal for his native Spain at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, has been working with Pochettino since 2011 and is the USMNT’s new goalkeeper coach. Silvia Tuya Viñasis, the strength and conditioning coach, is a new addition to Pochettino’s staff. She holds a PhD in sports science and most recently worked with FC Levante Badalona in Spain’s Liga F. Finally, Pochettino’s son, Sebastiano Pochettino, will serve as a USMNT sports scientist after working with his father at Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea.

LAST TIME OUT

The USMNT convened for the September International window under interim coach Mikey Varas and played a pair of home friendlies, falling to Canada, 2-1, at Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan. before drawing New Zealand, 1-1, at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Midfielder Luca de la Torre scored his first international goal in the Sept. 7 game against Canada, which brought the Americans to within one midway through the second half. Three days later on Sept. 10, Christian Pulisic tallied his 31st USMNT goal to give the hosts a lead against New Zealand. The Kiwis equalized in the 89th minute, however, extending the USA’s winless run to four matches (0W-3L-1D).

Varas was unveiled as the first head coach of MLS expansion side San Diego FC on Sept. 16.

The USA is 3W-5L-2D in 2024.

AGAINST PANAMA

This will be the 28th all-time meeting between the USMNT and Panama, and the 27th since 2004. Only Mexico (29 games) has been a more frequent opponent during that span. The USA holds a 17W-3L-7D advantage in the series (and a 54-19 goal differential), although Los Canaleros were the victors the last time they met.

The rivals squared off in the second game of the group stage of this summer’s Copa América. The June 27 match at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium was impacted by a first-half red card shown to the USA, but the Americans regrouped and took the lead through a 22nd-minute goal by Folarin Balogun. Panama drew level on a 26th-minute strike by César Blackman, however, and then pulled ahead of the 10-man USMNT on a close-range finish from José Fajardo in the 86th.

Saturday’s meeting is only the fifth friendly between the teams and the first since Nov. 16, 2020.

AT Q2 STADIUM

Austin FC’s 20,700-seat stadium opened in June, 2021, but has already become a hospitable setting for the USMNT, which is 4W-0L-0D there overall. Each of those four games was a competitive fixture, and each was a shutout win.

The only city in which the USMNT won its first five matches is Arlington, Texas (2017-2024), while the only city in which the USMNT didn’t allow a goal across its first five matches was Columbus, Ohio (2000-2004).

The USA made its Q2 debut with a 1-0 win over guest-nation Qatar in a dramatic 2021 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal. Gyasi Zardes scored the winner in the 86th minute.

A bit more than two months later, on Oct. 7, 2021, the USA beat Jamaica, 2-0, in a World Cup qualifier. Native Texan Ricardo Pepi, then with FC Dallas, tallied both goals.

Two Concacaf Nations League matches followed. The 5-0 win over Grenada in the 2022-23 Nations League group stage on June 10, 2022, was fueled by four goals from FC Dallas forward Jesús Ferreira. Then on Nov. 16, 2023, the USMNT defeated Trinidad & Tobago 3-0, in the first leg of their 2023-24 Nations League quarterfinal series. Pepi, Antonee Robinson and Gio Reyna scored in the 82nd, 86th and 89th minutes, respectively.

Saturday’s game will be the USMNT’s fifth all-time at Q2 and fifth in the state of Texas this year (one match in San Antonio and three in Arlington). The USA is 21W-4L-9D all-time in the Lone Star State.

ROSTER UPDATE

Pochettino has already had to make three changes to his first USMNT roster because of injury. After unveiling his initial 25-man squad on Oct. 2, the new head coach excused forwards Folarin Balogun and Tim Weah and midfielder Johnny Cardoso. In their place, Pochettino extended invites to Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Tanner Tessman, Monterrey forward Brandon Vazquez and Club América forward Alex Zendejas.

Vazquez has four goals in eight USMNT appearances and is back in camp for the first time since the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup, where he scored three times. He has three goals so far this season for Monterrey. Since earning his most recent caps at that same Gold Cup, Zendejas has won a pair of Liga MX championships with América. Tessman captained the U.S. Men’s Olympic Team this summer in France, where the USA advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2000.

Vazquez and Zendejas arrived from Mexico on Oct. 6. Tessman came in from France the following day.

ROSTER NOTES

• The 25 players come from clubs in 10 different countries: England (6), Italy (5), USA (4), France (2), Mexico (2), Netherlands (2), Belgium (1), Germany (1), Scotland (1), Wales (1).
• Christian Pulisic (73) is the leading cap winner, followed by Tim Ream (62), Weston McKennie (56) and Antonee Robinson (46). There are no uncapped players.
• Pulisic is also the leading goal scorer on the roster with 31, which is the fifth-highest total in USMNT history. The reigning U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year, Pulisic is four goals behind National Soccer Hall of Fame forward Eric Wynalda, who’s in fourth place.
• The other double-digit goal scorers on Pochettino’s squad are Weston McKenzie (11) and Ricardo Pepi (10).
• Pulisic has three goals for the USMNT in 2024, his seventh calendar year with at least three. That equals Jozy Altidore for the third-most three-plus goal years for the USMNT. Only Clint Dempsey (11) and Landon Donovan (10) had more calendar years with three or more goals.
• Pulisic arrives in fantastic form after cementing his place as one of Serie A’s top attackers this season. He has found the net for AC Milan in four consecutive league matches, during which the Rossoneri went 3W-1L-0D and climbed from 16th place to sixth. He already has six goals (including one in the Champions League against Liverpool) and two assists in nine games this season and was named the club’s player of the month in September.
• Weston McKennie also already has a 2024-25 Champions League goal to his credit, an eight-yard strike against PSV Eindhoven on Sept. 17. He’s appeared in five consecutive games in all competitions for Juventus.
• Ricardo Pepi scored his second and third goals of the season in PSV’s 2-0 win over Willem II on Sept. 28. His teammate for club and country, Malik Tillman, has four goals and two assists in 11 PSV appearances. He scored twice in a 3-1 win over Fortuna Sittard on Sept. 22.
• Josh Sargent arrived from Norwich City on a two-game goal scoring streak, having found the net against Leeds on Oct. 1 and then Hull City four days later. He also had two assists in a 3-2 defeat of Derby County on Sept. 28. Sargent has four goals and three helpers this season and Norwich is in seventh place in the EFL Championship.
• Haji Wright tallied his third goal of Coventry City’s season in a 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers on Oct. 1.
• Named Fulham’s player of the season for 2023-24, defender Antonee Robinson has played every minute of the Cottagers’ seven Premier League matches in the new campaign (that’s 630 minutes). He had assists against Leicester City on Aug. 24 and Ipswich Town on Aug. 31.
• Aidan Morris has made an immediate impact at Middlesbrough since transferring this summer. A two-time MLS Cup champion with the Columbus Crew, Morris has started eight of his new club’s nine EFL Championship matches in center midfield since arriving in August. Middlesbrough is in ninth place.
• Center back Tim Ream has turned what was once a liability into a strength as his USMNT career has progressed, becoming dominant in the air. In 11 international appearances since September 2023, Ream has won 79.4% of his aerial duels (27/34) after winning just over half (52%) in his first 51 career caps.
• Midfielder Yunus Musah has played 2,936 minutes in 41 career appearances for the USMNT. The 21-year-old is just 64 minutes away from joining Landon Donovan (3,661) as the only players to reach 3,000 USMNT minutes before turning 22.
• Goalkeeper Zack Steffen is back in camp for the first time since March 2023 and will be looking to earn his first cap since the March 31, 2022 World Cup qualifier in Costa Rica. Steffen has been outstanding in his first season with the Colorado Rapids, backstopping the team to third place in this summer’s Leagues Cup and winning the tournament’s Best Goalkeeper award on the way. Colorado also will return to the MLS Cup Playoffs after two seasons away.
• Midfielder Gianluca Busio also is back in camp for the first time since 2023—he appeared four times at the Gold Cup. But he was a key component of the Olympic side that reached the quarterfinals this summer in France, and he's started the past four Serie A matches for Venezia, which has returned to Italy’s top tier.
• Ricardo Pepi (three) and Antonee Robinson (one) are the only players on the roster who’ve scored at Q2 Stadium. Pepi followed up his brace in the Oct. 7, 2021 World Cup qualifier against Jamaica with a goal in the Nations League win over Trinidad & Tobago on Nov. 16, 2023. Robinson also scored that night.
• Sixteen players were on the roster for this summer’s Copa América.
• Ten players are age 23 or younger: Brenden Aaronson, Patrick Schulte, Tanner Tessmann (23); Gianluca Busio, Aidan Morris, Kristoffer Lund, Malik Tillman (22); Yunus Musah, Ricardo Pepi, Joe Scally (21).
• Sixteen players are products of the U.S. Soccer Development Academy, with 11 coming from MLS academies: Brenden Aaronson (Philadelphia Union), Ethan Horvath (Real Colorado), Weston McKennie (FC Dallas), Mark McKenzie (Philadelphia Union), Aidan Morris (Columbus Crew), Ricardo Pepi (FC Dallas), Christian Pulisic (PA Classics), Miles Robinson (FC Boston Bolts), Josh Sargent (St. Louis Scott Gallagher), Joe Scally (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (St. Louis Scott Gallagher, Saint Louis FC), Zack Steffen (Philadelphia Union), Tanner Tessman (FC Dallas), Auston Trusty (Philadelphia Union), Haji Wright (LA Galaxy) and Alex Zendejas (FC Dallas).

USA-PANAMA NOTES

• The USMNT and Panama have been frequent foes in official competition, meeting 10 times in World Cup qualifying or tournament play in the past decade. Panama got the best of the USA in the two most recent contests. Los Canaleros won the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup semifinal on penalties following a 1-1 draw in San Diego, then outlasted the 10-man Americans at the 2024 Copa América in June.
• Panama could become just the third Concacaf team in U.S. Soccer’s modern era (since 1990) to defeat the USMNT in consecutive meetings. Mexico (most recently in 2019) and Costa Rica (most recently in 2013-15) are the only other Concacaf teams to do so in the past 35 years.
• Christian Pulisic has six goal contributions in five career matches against Panama (4 goals, 2 assists), including a hat trick in a World Cup qualifier on March 27, 2022, in Orlando, Fla. (a 5-1 win). Pulisic has been more productive only against Trinidad & Tobago (7) while only Landon Donovan (4 goals, 3 assists) has more goal contributions against Panama in USMNT history.
• Pulisic is the only member of the current roster who has scored against Panama.
• Mauricio Pochettino is the 11th permanent USMNT head coach since 1976. Only two of the past 10 lost their first match as permanent coach (excluding return stints), and both defeats came on the road. The last time a permanent USMNT head coach lost at home in his debut was in 1973, when Gene Chyzowych’s side fell to Poland in Chicago.

PANAMA OF LATE

Panama has risen from 45th to 37th in the FIFA ranking over the past 12 months and has a 4W-5L-0D mark in 2024.

Its most recent action came at the Copa América, where wins over the USA and Bolivia helped Panama finish second in the group and earn a quarterfinal showdown with Colombia, which dispatched Los Canaleros 5-0, on its way to the tournament final. José Fajardo, who played briefly for D.C. United in 2023 before moving on to Ecuador’s Universidad Católica, scored the game-winner against the USA and led Panama with two tournament goals.

Fajardo’s 13 international goals are the most on the current roster. Olympique Marseille’s Michael Murillo and Mazatlán’s Yoel Bárcenas each have nine. Nashville SC’s Aníbal Godoy, Panama’s captain, is closing in on Panama’s all-time appearance record. He’s at 141, just seven behind retried leader Gabriel Gómez.

Panama’s 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign began in June with wins over Guyana (2-0) and Montserrat (3-1). Group play will resume next June, and the top two finishers in a five-team group that also includes Nicaragua and Belize will advance to Concacaf’s third round.

Panama will conclude the October window with a friendly against Canada on Oct. 15 at BMO Field in Toronto.

AT THE HELM

Danish manager Thomas Christiansen has been leading Los Canaleros since July 2020, and he’s the only head coach remaining from Concacaf’s eight-team World Cup qualifying competition contested in 2021-22.

Christiansen, 51, has led Panama to a 31W-19L-13D record, the silver medal at the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup and the 2024 Copa América quarterfinals.

His 15-year playing career included stops at clubs in Spain, Greece, Denmark and Germany, where he was a teammate of National Soccer Hall of Fame defender Steve Cherundolo at Hannover 96. Although raised in Denmark, the striker was eligible to play for Spain through his mother and earned two caps with La Roja in 1993, scoring once.

Christiansen then went into coaching and was the head coach at AEK Larnaca and APOEL in Cyprus, Leeds United and Belgium’s Union Saint-Gilloise before joining up with Panama. He won a Cypriot First Division championship with APOEL in 2017.

PANAMA ROSTER BY POSITION (CLUB/COUNTRY; CAPS/GOALS)

GOALKEEPERS (3): Orlando Mosquera (Al-Fahya/KSA; 29/0), César Samudio (CD Marathon/HON; 4/0), John Gunn (New England Revolution II/USA; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (9): José Córdoba (Norwich City/ENG; 19/0), Eric Davis (Vila Nova/BRA; 94/7), Iván Anderson (Fortaleza/COL; 11/1), Michael Murillo (Olympique Marseille/FRA; 77/9), César Blackman (Slovan Bratislava/SVK; 25/1), Edgardo Fariña (FK Khimki/RUS; 7/0), Jiovany Ramos (Alianza Lima/PER; 14/0), Fidel Escobar (Deportivo Saprissa/CRC; 80/3), Roderick Miller (Turan Tovuz/AZE; 45/2)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Aníbal Godoy (Nashville SC/USA; 141/4), Adalberto Carrasquilla (Houston Dynamo/USA; 59/2), Cristian Martínez (Ironi Kiryat Shmona/ISR; 46/1), José Luis Rodríguez (FC Juárez/MEX; 49/6), Edgar Yoel Bárcenas (Mazatlán FC/MEX; 91/9), Freddy Góndola (FK Aktobe/KAZ; 22/1), Abdiel Ayarza (The Strongest/BOL; 31/4), Kahiser Lenis (Jaguares de Córdoba/COL; 6/2)

FORWARDS (3): José Fajardo (Universidad Católica/ECU; 52/13), Eduardo Guerrero (Dynamo Kyiv/UKR; 14/1), Tomás Rodríguez (Monagas/VEN; 3/0)