US men's soccer begins the Pochettino era with a 2-0 friendly win over Panama

AUSTIN, Texas – Mauricio Pochettino arrived at Q2 Stadium to see posters and banners with his face around the stands and behind a goal.

As he left, he was already saluting the fans who were cheering his name. The 52-year-old Argentine's debut as US coach was a complete success.

Yunus Musah scored in the 49th minute off an assist from his AC Milan teammate Christian Pulisic, and Ricardo Pepi scored in stoppage time to secure a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday evening.

The game in front of nearly 20,239 spectators was the first of two friendlies for the United States in four days, which also includes a game against Mexico on Tuesday in Guadalajara. The Americans ended a four-game winless streak and their first four-game home winless streak since trailing by seven games in the 2010-11 season.

“Build something little by little. The target is 2026,” said Pochettino. “It’s just the first step.”

And love at first sight for US fans?

“Great. Great. Thank you to the fans. “You were great,” said Pochettino.

The former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach was hired last month to replace Gregg Berhalter, who was sacked in July following a first-round exit from the Copa America. Pochettino was given a contract until the 2026 World Cup, which the United States will co-host, and is tasked with building a team that has not reached the World Cup quarterfinals since 2002.

Musah made the most of the team's new beginning and scored his first goal in 42 international matches.

“Hopefully there’s more to come,” Musah said.

Antonee Robinson worked her way around defender Michael Murillo on the left and centralized Pulisic, who exchanged passes with Brenden Aaronson and delivered a cross once. Musah beat defender César Blackman and directed the ball past Orlando Mosquera with a right-footed volley from 4 meters.

“I told him it was a goal instinct. He was watching me,” said Pulisic, who has scored five goals in seven Serie A games this season. “He learned a thing or two. But honestly, this moment…it’s great to see.”

Pulisic played for a U.S. coach for the eighth time, a record for an American player. The USA were missing injured starters Sergiño Dest, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah and Folarin Balogun.

Three second-half substitutes scored the second goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Malik Tillman knocked down a kick from goalkeeper Matt Turner and passed to Haji Wright, who crossed. Texas-born Pepi fired the ball through Mosquera's legs to score his 11th goal in 31 appearances – his fourth in three international appearances in Austin.

Turner, who played all four games at the 2022 World Cup, made a double save in the 52nd minute, deflecting Puma Rodríguez's shot with his left hand and then diving forward again to get his body in front of Yoel Bárcenas' rebound attempt.

Panama's José Fajardo fired a free shot wide of the goal in the 87th minute. The USA had 55% possession and were outscored 13-11.

“It was a good night, but I don't want to get too ahead of myself,” Turner said. “It was a building block for the future. It wasn’t perfect by any means.”

Panama had beaten the United States in the group stage of the Copa America, a game in which Weah received an early red card for hitting an opponent.

“I didn’t feel too many changes. But when a new coach comes, it’s definitely a victory, and that’s exactly what happened,” said Panama coach Thomas Christiansen. “He will also need time to adapt his ideas to the team. He has the knowledge and experience and he has the players to do the job.”

Tim Ream captained the Americans a week after his 37th birthday, becoming the oldest U.S. outfield player since Preki Radosavljević in 2001. Forward Josh Sargent made his first start since the 2022 group stage final against Iran.

Mexican referee Katia Garcia is believed to be the first woman to officiate a U.S. men's national team game.

Goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who has not played for the United States since the last World Cup qualifiers in March 2022, did not dress because of what the U.S. Soccer Federation said was a minor injury. Defender Marlon Fossey, who has not trained on the field in recent days, also did not dress. Weston McKennie did not play because he arrived at camp injured, said Pochettino.