AUSTIN, Texas — Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. men’s national team debut sprang to life after 48 minutes, and the man who gave it a necessary jolt wasn’t the savior coach; it was the star who’ll need to propel Pochettino’s reboot, Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic unlocked a Saturday friendly vs. Panama that, for most of a scoreless first half, looked a lot like the USMNT’s Gregg Berhalter era. “Really, I didn’t feel too many changes,” Panama coach Thomas Christiansen said postgame.
But shortly after halftime, the decisive moment arrived. It began with nine patient passes. Tim Ream pinged a 10th over the top, down the left. The ball then found Pulisic, who wriggled into the penalty box via a cute 1-2 with Brenden Aaronson. And with the 14th pass of the attacking move, Pulisic set up Yunus Musah for the opening goal of the game — and Musah’s first for the national team.
In second-half stoppage time, Ricardo Pepi added a second, and the USMNT secured a 2-0 victory.
Before and after the goals, the USMNT was unremarkable. The starting lineup was experimental by necessity — because seven regulars were injured and missing, and an eighth, Weston McKennie, was on the bench.
Pochettino’s chosen 11 were energetic, and quick to press Panama, but they lacked cutting edge in the final third — especially in Panama’s penalty box.
The difference was the winger whom Pochettino recently called “one of the best offensive players in the world.”
Pulisic is in the form of his life for AC Milan in Italy. He’s the best forward in Serie A. “He’s flying,” Musah, his teammate for club and country, said Friday. And he brought the form to Q2 Stadium on Saturday.
He is, without a doubt, the most important player within the Pochettino project. If there’s a revolution, Pulisic will surely drive it. He’s a “fantastic player,” Pochettino said Friday, “a player that is going to help now, and in the future, to put the team in a place that we want.”
And a day later, Pochettino’s first game drove home the point.
Other U.S. players were active. Aaronson, deployed as an attacking midfielder, was a pest — and precisely the type of pressing maniac that Pochettino will love. Aidan Morris was imperfect but often tidy on the ball and sturdy against it. Antonee Robinson was his usual buccaneering self.
None of them, though, had the quality to find a decisive pass, or finish the odd chance. Josh Sargent missed the USMNT’s best opportunity of the first half. In the second, the best chances fell to Panama — and U.S. goalkeeper Matt Turner was equal to each of them.
It wasn’t until the 94th minute that Haji Wright set up Pepi for another golden one. Pepi sealed the deal. And Pochettino closed the night by clapping to fans, who serenaded him with a simple chant: “Poch-e-tti-no! Poch-e-tti-no!”
Next up for the U.S. is a Tuesday friendly against Mexico in Guadalajara. That, in many ways, will be a tougher test for Pochettino and the Americans.