The wait is over as it’s finally time to see the United States men’s national team under Mauricio Pochettino take the pitch. They’ll host Panama in Austin, Texas with high expectations. Key names like Folarin Balogun, Gio Reyna, Tim Weah, and Tyler Adams may be absent from this camp, but that also offers an opportunity for others to step up and impress their new manager. One of those names will be Josh Sargent, in good form with Norwich City, he’s been able to add creativity into his game which is music to Christian Pulisic’s ears.
“I think he’s a fantastic player, one of the best offensive players in the world,” Pochettino said about Pulisic in his pre-match press conference. Looking at Pulisic’s form with Milan, it’s hard to argue with that. Pulisic has six goals and two assists in all competitions for Milan, becoming the first name on the team sheet. It’s not like he’s shooting more this season either, Pulisic has just been ruthless with the chances that he gets. His shot volume has actually decreased, dropping from 2.23 per 90 minutes to 1.80 but his expected goals per 90 minutes have almost doubled, going from 0.28 to 0.52, similarly his goal scoring rate has jumped from 0.41 to0.82 per 90 minutes. Now the question is whether he can bring that ruthless efficiency to the national team.
The USMNT will see plenty of compact defenses and it’s up to Pulisic to find his way through them. As more attention shifts toward stopping him in Serie A play, Pulisic has shown that he can still get a great shot off and he’ll need to continue doing that during this international break.
Here’s our storylines, how you can watch the match and more:
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How to watch and odds
- Date: Saturday, Oct. 13 | Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Location: Q2 Stadium — Austin, Texas
- TV: TNT | Live stream: Fubo (Try for free)
- Odds: USMNT -215; Draw +290; Panama +550
Storylines
USMNT: With only one win in their last seven matches, the team will need to show that they’re ready to go to work under Pochettino. There are good feelings around their potential under the Argentine but those feelings will only last as long as the USMNT shows that they are ready to compete. Training has been intense so far and the off-halves that they’ve had recently won’t be tolerated under Pochettino but it’s still about how this team can respond under the new manager against a team that they should defeat.
USMNT Lineup Prediction: Zack Steffen, Marlon Fossey, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Antonee Robinson, Aidan Morris, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Malik Tillman, Christian Pulisic, Josh Sargent
Panama: This Panama side has been improving and will look to put their own Copa America disappointment, a 5-0 loss to Colombia, behind them. They were able to defeat the USMNT in the group stage of that tournament to secure their own advancement to the knockout stages but the team that takes the pitch for the USMNT will be quite different than the one that lost at the Copa America. Thomas Christiansen has worked wonders in charge of Panama but he’ll have quite a battle to outmatch Pochettino.
Prediction
In what will be a gritty match, the USMNT will do just enough to secure a victory which will be a bright spot considering their recent form. Pick: USMNT 2, Panama 1
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