So begins the Mauricio Pochettino era.
On Wednesday, the new U.S. men’s national team head coach revealed his first roster, which consists of a 25-man call-up that will take part in friendlies against Panama at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, on Oct. 12 and against Mexico at Guadalajara’s Estadio Akron on Oct. 15.
With the 2026 World Cup less than two years away, the matches will be an invaluable opportunity for Pochettino to showcase that he’s the right leader to finally elevate a promising generation of USMNT talent. Doing so will mean reorganizing and rejuvenating a side that recently failed to impress at the 2024 Copa América.
Following a highly disappointing exit in the tournament’s group stage that led to the firing of former coach Gregg Berhalter, and a lackluster set of winless friendlies under interim Mikey Varas last month, Pochettino now has a chance to flip the script.
Looking ahead to October’s games that will provide early insight into a new era, here are four talking points and a possible best XI from Pochettino’s first call-up.
Pochettino isn’t shaking up the roster — yet
At the moment, Pochettino is playing things safe.
Of the 26 players who were included in the underwhelming Copa América run, a core of 19 will return for October’s games. From last month’s 24-man list, the number goes back to 19 when looking at those who were added to Pochettino’s first 25-player call-up.
Though key figures such as Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Gio Reyna and Chris Richards are dealing with injury issues, the roster changes have been subtle ones that won’t include any debuts in October. That isn’t surprising when you consider that the manager is still adapting to his new role and relied on some help to guide the first selection.
“[I trust] the opinion and all the information that we received from the national team, that is why you are going to see a very similar roster from [the] last camp,” said Pochettino on Wednesday.
That said, after getting to know the current call-ups and the wider USMNT pool, the coach noted he will soon put his stamp on the team.
“Maybe [they’re] not now in the roster,” said Pochettino without wanting to reveal any names he’s keeping tabs on. “But for sure they’re going to be in the roster in the future.”
Who will be the starting goalkeeper?
That’s the biggest question surrounding the USMNT XI. On paper, that should either be Crystal Palace‘s Matt Turner or Cardiff City’s Ethan Horvath, but both are currently bench options for their teams.
“A coach always worries when his players have few minutes in their clubs,” said Pochettino. “It’s important to arrive at a World Cup in the best conditions.”
The Columbus Crew‘s Patrick Schulte is another intriguing option, although at 23 years of age his game isn’t as fine-tuned as his national team peers.
What about Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Zack Steffen? He was the noteworthy surprise addition after a two-year absence, but there’s something to be said about his distribution of the ball that can work with Pochettino’s style of play. Nonetheless, the 30-year-old has a worrisome goals prevented rating of minus-8.65 in MLS.
For reference in the same league, Schulte has a much better rating of plus-5.96.
Who will step up in the place of injured stars?
Due to injuries to Adams, Dest, Reyna and Richards, a handful of options will now have a chance to shine and make a great first impression with Pochettino.
In defense, Richards’ absence will leave an opportunity for a new partner for Tim Ream this month, although Ream himself is past the peak of his abilities. This means that either Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson or Auston Trusty will likely have moments to make an impact against Panama or Mexico.
At right-back, Joe Scally seems to have Dest’s backup spot secured, but he could face some competition from Marlon Fossey.
In the midfield, things can get very interesting without the likes of Adams and in more attack-minded positions without Reyna. Johnny Cardoso (who had a questionable last window) could be given a chance for redemption, but there’s also something to be said for Yunus Musah and Malik Tillman to further establish themselves in an XI that will have open spaces.
Will Poch adapt to the USMNT pool or will players adapt to Poch’s style?
High pressing, playing out of the back, allowing wingers to tuck inside in a fluid attack — those all come to mind when thinking of Pochettino’s energetic and physically taxing system. It helped him make a name for himself in Europe, but can it work with the USMNT? At the very least, formation-wise, the coach hinted at possibly sticking with his favored systems.
“1-4-2-3-1, 1-4-3-3,” said Pochettino about what he’ll want to try this month. “From there [we’ll] develop our way to play and see how we can adapt and how we can create the partnership in between them.”
That adaptation will be intriguing for the players and the coach.
If Pochettino builds out from the back, that could mean some early issues in a defensive and goalkeeping setup that doesn’t have a wealth of reliable ball distributors. Looking in the attack, it will also be interesting to see if his wingers can reliably tuck in when needing to help support.
The manager may also need to alter his methods, and if, for example, we see a more direct style of play that doesn’t focus on building from the back, it could signal that Pochettino will need to reconfigure his own methods early on.
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Possible best XI for October
What is expected is plenty of variation over 180-plus minutes for Pochettino. The coach will rightfully want to see as many players as possible, which will probably lead to a number of tactical changes. However, if we’re assuming that he may need to line up his best players at one point against Mexico, here’s a possible 4-3-3.
Schulte gets the nod after a decent last performance, McKenzie will return to the defense after Richards’ absence, Cardoso’s latest blunders and Adams’ injury will leave a possible McKennie-Musah duo in the heart of the XI, and up top, Folarin Balogun could maintain his place as No. 1 in the striker depth chart.
GK: Patrick Schulte
LB: Antonee Robinson
LCB: Tim Ream
RCB: Mark McKenzie
RB: Joe Scally
DM: Weston McKennie
DM: Yunus Musah
CAM: Malik Tillman
RW: Brenden Aaronson
FW: Folarin Balogun
LW: Christian Pulisic