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Mauricio Pochettino’s first road game in charge of the United States men’s national team is a rare clash in Mexico with El Tri.
The USMNT and Mexico typically do battle on North American soil, but Tuesday’s friendly will be played in Guadalajara.
The Pochettino era began with a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday. Winning in Mexico comes with a set of new challenges because the USMNT had five players depart camp this weekend.
Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Ricardo Pepi were part of the quintet that left to go back to their respective clubs.
Pochettino will have to call on other attacking stars to create chances and try to pull off the win without Pulisic, the team’s best attacker, in the squad.
Date: Tuesday, October 15
Start Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
The USMNT released Pulisic back to AC Milan for load-management purposes ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Mexico.
The move is in the best interest of the player since there are not many breaks in the calendar once the European club soccer season starts up in August.
Pochettino will take a smaller roster to Mexico, but the available squad can still pick up a result against the program’s top international rival.
Tuesday’s match could be a chance for strikers such as Haji Wright and Brandon Vazquez to prove their worth to the USMNT.
Josh Sargent started up top on Saturday and Ricardo Pepi came off the bench to score the second goal for the U.S.
Vazquez’s experience against Liga MX defenders could be a X-factor for the American attack. He has three goals in six games this season for Monterrey.
If rotation happens across the squad, Malik Tillman could get an opportunity in the attack. He came on as a substitute in Saturday’s win over Panama.
Three members of the back line and midfielder Aidan Morris went the full 90 minutes on Saturday, so they may be switched out by Pochettino.
If he starts again, the key man to watch is Yunus Musah, who scored and looked strong in midfield against Panama.
The 21-year-old will have a vital part to play for the USMNT over the next 18 months, and with only six midfielders on the roster at the moment, he could be handed a second straight start to provide stability in the middle of the park.
The Mexico squad is headlined by goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and midfielder Andres Guardado, but there are plenty of new faces looking to make an impact as well.
Alexis Vega and Ozziel Herrera scored in Saturday’s 2-2 friendly with Spanish club side Valencia.
Vega and Herrera are two of 14 players in the El Tri squad with less than 40 international appearances.
The USMNT Is in a far better state at the moment under Pochettino, but Tuesday’s game is a chance for Mexico to prove it can still be competitive despite its moment of weakness.
Mexico crashed out of the Copa America in the group stage and only has one win in the three games since the summer tournament.
A result in Guadalajara is possible for the USMNT, but it will be harder to create chances without Pulisic and that could lead to a slower-paced contest in the final third.
Prediction: Mexico 1, United States 1