U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino was full of compliments again for a group of young players who are with the senior squad for the first time, describing them as both confident and cocky on the pitch but humble off it. The 28-player roster for the USMNT's first post-World Cup friendlies includes 12 players who are newcomers to the senior national team, boasting an average age of 19 years and six months. Another 12 were members of this year's World Cup team as Pochettino goes for a balanced approach to start a new four-year cycle; the mixed group already off to a strong start with Saturday's 4-1 win over Peru.
Though Pochettino always had a healthy blend of veterans and newcomers on the pitch over the course of Saturday's game, the USMNT's first-timers ultimately made headlines – forwards Justin Ellis and Julian Hall each scored in their debuts, while Hall also added an assist to his record against Peru. The head coach heaped praise on the first-timers after Saturday's match, oftentimes mentioning the "massive talent" they have as individuals and as a collective and continued to compliment the players' ability to settle into the senior national team seamlessly. "When we announced the starting 11 one day before Peru, they were so relaxed and calm," he said Monday when asked if he sensed any nerves before the Peru game from the first-timers "I think we have a group of players, young players but very confident, very, very cocky.
Very confident in their qualities and I think we have a good balance in between this arrogance that we pretend that they have, that helps [them] to perform on the pitch and outside. They are very humble outside but in the training or when the competition [arrives], they are very confident in themselves and I think that's a good thing. I didn't notice that they were nervous." Pochettino added that he and his coaching staff have enjoyed working with the USMNT's next generation, previously describing their youthful energy as "contagious." "I think it's very natural in the way that we are living," he added.
"I think it's a great atmosphere and yes, it's fantastic. We were talking with [assistant] Jesus [Perez] today after training, in the way we were enjoying players that allowed us to coach, [are] coachable players. That is priceless for us but I think it's amazing.
It's amazing because we are enjoying a lot with the whole group, no? The 28 players are fantastic." Date: Tuesday, Sept. 29 | Time: 8 p.m. ETLocation: Energize Park -- St.
LouisTV: TNT | Live stream: HBO MaxOdds: USMNT -250; Draw +350; Chile +550 Pochettino named a brand-new starting lineup against Peru on Saturday and will likely do so again against Chile on Tuesday, both in the service of his new player pool expansion project and also down to the schedule. Tuesday's friendly is the second of four games in the span of 11 days, which will force the coaching staff to rotate through their options for the sake of load management. "Some players that maybe played more than 60 minutes the other day, maybe they need to rest a little bit because after, we have Mexico and we have Canada," Pochettino said.
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