The United States men’s national team kicked off the international break on a strong note with a dominant victory over Panama but things will look a little different when they head to Guadalajara to face Mexico Tuesday night. Five players have departed the USMNT camp — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Marlon Fossey, Ricardo Pepi, and Zack Steffen. It’s a mixture of load management and minor injuries that see the five depart but this also gives a good look at Pochettino getting into international management and dealing with roster issue
While you always want to defeat Mexico, and this will be a big match for the USMNT, relationships and the long-term health of a player are critical. Pulisic has played in every match for Milan and coming into camp, Pochettino noted that he seemed a little tired. There’s no reason to push him past his limits potentially jeopardizing his availability for Concacaf Nations League play in November.
“As we have said, we are always going to make decisions that are in the best interest of our players and respect the relationship we have with their clubs,” Pochettino said.
These moves also have the added effect of providing the team with a chance to show what they can do without their talisman in Pulisic. Everything goes through him on the left flank and being able to work out solutions of what to do without him in a hostile environment will only be good for the USMNT’s long-term development.
It is a missed opportunity for Steffen who had a chance to make his first USMNT appearance since March of 2022. Injuries and Matt Turner winning the number one keeper job have kept Steffen out of the side but this is a chance under new management to win a role back. It’ll now have to wait until another window due to this departure but with it being the first time that he was even called up since March of 2023, the door is still open.
With Pulisic out, it does lead to the question of how could the USMNT line up for this match. No new players were added to the roster so they’ll have a 23-man squad, which could look something like this.
USMNT predicted lineup
Matt Turner, Antonee Robinson, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Yunus Musah, Aidan Morris, Gianluca Busio, Haji Wright, Josh Sargent, Brenden Aaronson
Not much change needs to happen after a 2-0 victory, especially along the defense which did a great job at limiting Panama’s chances. The notable inclusion is Wright who grabbed an assist off the bench and will get to operate from his favored left side without Pulisic in the XI. Wright is still someone who can put fear into a defense with his shooting and creative abilities allowing Pochettino to avoid altering his tactics while facing a Concacaf rival.
