Mauricio Pochettino is set to dive even deeper into the USMNT player pool on Tuesday (10:30 pm ET), when he gets his first taste of the USA vs Mexico rivalry south of the border.
[ RECAP: USMNT 2-0 Panama: USA perfect in the Pochettino era | Player ratings ]
Upon beating Panama 2-0 in his debut as USMNT head coach on Saturday, Pochettino promptly released five players, including Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, to return to their clubs. Pulisic’s departure is for load management after already racking up more than 700 minutes for AC Milan on the still-young season. With 6 goals and 2 assists in 9 games, it’s little wonder that Pulisic is feeling a bit of strain. McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Zack Steffen and Marlon Fossey were all set to be unavailable to face Mexico with minor injuries.
[ MORE: Three things we learned from Pochettino’s USMNT debut ]
The question is now: Can they create enough chances with Pulisic out of the team, when so much of what they did well in the final third against Panama ran right through the 26-year-old superstar? Yunus Musah will likely be deployed as a wide player — a tactical tweak he relished, hailing Pochettino on Saturday — with Brenden Aaronson moving to the left wing in Pulisic’s absence. This will be a low-volume game for the USMNT, meaning they will have no choice but to make the most of any sight of goal as well as set pieces.
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How to watch USMNT vs Panama live, stream link and start time
Kickoff time: 10:30 pm ET Tuesday (October 15)
Venue: Estadio Akron in Jalisco, Guadalajara
How to watch: TNT, Max
USMNT team news, focus
The USMNT effectively played in a 3-4-3 formation against Panama, with Musah providing width on the right, Joe Scally playing a wider center back role behind him and Antonee Robinson given even more license to roam (if you can believe that) on the left. It worked against an overmatched Panama side, but would probably put the back-three of Scally, Tim Ream and Mark McKenzie under more pressure than they’re ready to face after two or three training sessions with the new boss. It’ll likely be a rigid 4-3-3 that gets numbers behind the ball out of possession and looks to build up slowly in attack.
Mexico team news, focus
Mexico played La Liga side Valencia to a 2-2 draw on Saturday, with Alexis Vega and Ozziel Herrera getting on the scoresheet. A number of first-teamers, including Edson Alvarez and Raul Jimenez, were rested for the first game this window, meaning they will likely be fully fit and back in the lineup on Tuesday. El Tri are without stalwarts Jesus Gallardo and Uriel Antuna this week.
Mexico vs USMNT prediction
This will not be a beautiful game of football — anything but, probably. The USMNT’s injury crisis is such that the uglier the game is, the better their chances of getting a positive result. Shoe, meet other foot. Mexico 0-0 USA.
