The era of Argentine Mauricio Pochettino in front of USA started this Saturday with a strong 2-0 friendly win in Austin (Texas, USA) match Panamawhich was decided by the goals of Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi in the second half. The United States had to suffer to defeat Panama, but Musah’s first goal as a full international, after a connection between Milan players with Christian Pulisic, and Ricardo Pepi’s eleventh, in extra time, has allowed Pochettino to get off to a good start.
The Argentine made his debut in a match against an old team known as Panama, the team that beat him 2-1 in June in Atlanta in the group stage of the Copa América and left the Americans reeling. The team then led by Gregg Berhalter bid farewell to the Copa América, hosted at home, through the back door with a defeat against Uruguay on the third day of the group stage.
Berhalter is no longer on the United States bench and has just signed on as the new coach of the Chicago Fire. The American team, with an interim coach on the bench, played several gray friendlies in September that ended in a loss against Canada and a draw against New Zealand.
Even though it was a friendly, the tension in the United States was palpable at the beginning of the rivalry and there were hardly any scoring opportunities in the first half. Brendan Aaronson had the best shot on the brink of half-time, but his cross shot was saved by Orlando Mosquera. But the emotions missing in the first half came in the second. Just over three minutes later, Pulisic closed out a one-two with Josh Sargent and put in a cross that his Milan team-mate Musah finished at will to make it 1-0. The former Valencia player celebrated the first goal of his international career.
The United States managed to increase the gap seconds later, but Mosquera made a great save after Josh Sargent’s shot. And on the other side of the field it was Matt Turner who made two saves in a row to deny Édgar Bárcenas and José Luis Rodríguez ‘Puma’ a tie.
A good performance by the Nottingham Forest goalkeeper protected the United States’ advantage, which would end the match in the 94th minute, when Haji Wright hit a low cross from the left wing that Pepi finished inside the area for final 2-0.
Panama will now face Panama in the second friendly on this FIFA date, with sights set on the quarterfinal matches of the Concacaf Nations League in November, where the Panamanians await a rival. The United States will face Mexico in their next friendly match.
TECHNICAL SHEET
2 – United States: Turner; Ream, McKenzie, Scally; Robinson, Busio, Moris, Musah; Pulisic, Aaronson, Sargent. Also playing: Wright, Tessmann, Pepi, Lund, Tillman, Zendejas.
0 – Panama: Mosquera; Escobar, Farina, Miller; Murillo, Martínez, Carrasquilla, Blackman; Bárcenas, Guerrero, Puma. Also playing: Welch, Fajardo, Harvey, Godoy, Góndola, Ayarza.
Objectives: 1-0, Musah (m. 50); 2-0, Ricardo Pepi (m. 94)
referee: Katia García Mendoza (Mexico). There are no warnings.
Events: Friendly match played at Q2 Stadium in Austin (Texas), in front of almost 20,000 spectators.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
