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The United States men’s national team plays its first significant game under manager Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday night.
The USMNT visits Jamaica in the first leg of a two-leg quarterfinal in the Concacaf Nations League.
The Americans split the first two friendly matches under Pochettino’s direction in September. They won at home against Panama and lost on the road in Mexico with a depleted squad.
Thursday’s game starts a two-game series over the November international break with Jamaica. The winner of the series advances to the Nations League semifinals, which will be held in March.
Date: Thursday, November 14
Thursday is the first real test of the Pochettino era.
It will be one of the rare chances the USMNT gets to play in a competitive environment prior to the 2026 FIFA World Cup on home soil.
The USMNT’s bare minimum expectation is to win everything on the continental level, and that has been true in the Nations League since it was introduced in 2019. The USMNT is three-for-three in Nations League titles.
The regular cast of stars are available for Pochettino on Thursday. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Antonee Robinson are among the players penciled into the starting lineup.
Goalkeeper and striker continue to be the toughest positions to figure out inside the USMNT talent pool.
Matt Turner and Zack Steffen were two of four goalkeepers called in for the November Nations League games. Two other young netminders are in camp, but they are not expected to start over the two international veterans.
Pochettino may be willing to split the November starts between Turner and Steffen, who have 76 international appearances between them, but no clear-cut No. 1 goalkeeper has emerged just yet.
At forward, Ricardo Pepi has to be the option given who was available for the November roster. Josh Sargent and Haji Wright are both dealing with injuries at the moment.
Pepi could take the Nations League quarterfinals as his opportunity to shine in front of the new manager. He has 11 goals in 31 international games and has six goals in the Eredivisie for PSV this season.
Brandon Vazquez is the other candidate to start up top. The Monterrey forward is not in the blistering form he was in last year in Liga MX, but he does have three goals in six games in the new Liga MX campaign.
Pochettino might be inclined to start his players with more experience on Thursday on the road before he unleashes a more attack-friendly lineup at home on Monday.
Jamaica can be one of the toughest teams to break down with three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake in net.
The Reggae Boyz allowed one goal in their last four games, so do not expect the Americans to bury a plethora of chances.
A draw in Kingston would be a good result, but if the Americans win, it will likely be by a slim margin.
Prediction: USMNT 0, Jamaica 0