With the US Federation hiring Mauricio Pochettino to be the head coach of the Men's Senior side, this couldn't be any more of a slam dunk hire. Sure, the federation tried to get Jurgen Klopp and that would've been an absolutely amazing hire, but Pochettino might actually be more of a perfect fit for the current team. Argentinian coaches have shown to be very successful and getting an outsider like Pochettino is much needed for this program that seemed to have floundered under Gregg Berhalter. Berhalter's tenure was "successful", but that should be taken with a grain of salt as the team fired him after a disastrous Copa America where the team fell out after the Group Stage despite being put into an easy group. Sure, the USMNT won multiple Nation's League titles and made it out of their group in the World Cup under Berhalter, but he was hitting the bare minimum of success. Yes, Berhalter's recruitment was actually very strong and has set up a nice base of players and an incredibly talented core as it's not a far cry from dubbing this as a "Golden Generation", but with unwillingness to adjust his tactics and not dominating matches despite the talent, that was frustrating. The results were not exactly as convincing as they seemed because the USMNT was not dominating like they should've especially during World Cup qualification where they finished third and actually almost didn't even earn automatic qualification despite being the best constructed roster and strongest in CONCACAF. Heck, not even winning the Gold Cup is a failure as with all the resources despite playing with a "C" roster, the team should be winning more.
Enough about Berhalter, let's get back to Pochettino. Pochettino has a pretty good resume to say the least as a manager. He has managed five clubs and for the most part has been pretty successful. Pochettino had an excellent tenure at Espanyol and was actually very good with Southampton, but it was his time with Tottenham that made him a household name. With Spurs, Pochettino was very successful as he came very close to winning the first Premier League title in club history in 2015-16 (yes, that very same season when some team named Leicester City famously finished on top). Then he had some spells with Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea before becoming the manager of the USMNT. Hiring a world class manager was a priority as money wasn't an issue after parting ways with Berhalter, but the US Federation found a great guy to hire.
Now, what does Pochettino bring? According to his Wikipedia page, he favors a "very high-pressing, attacking style". His favored formation is 4-2-3-1, though he does change it up based on the players he has. But with that formation Pochettino employs "he instructs his team to build from the back, intimidate, and unsettle opponents with a quick-press system and work the ball into the box." Essentially, if Pochettino can get them to be opportunistic while pressing and using athleticism to their full effect, they'll be successful. When not being favorited, he's going to have the team be possessive and counter attacking. Now, obviously being the manager of a national side is going to be different than coaching a club, so Pochettino will have to adapt with the players they have. What that means is that if he was recruiting players at a club, it is strictly trying to bring in players for his system and if it was for a national side, it is because it's based on talent though them fitting the system does play somewhat of a role.
Now, which players benefit the most out of this? Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah do right off the bat especially if they play on the wings, but one player who does is actually Josh Sargent. Sargent is a fast player who does need to get more physical, but this system does exploit his strengths. While he might not be the absolute best option as the striker, this should help him especially in certain situations and as depth. It's too early to tell who else this helps, but with a slew of matches this year to be played, then we'll get a better idea.
Now while there has been some competitive games played that aren't friendlies under Pochettino's system so far, this calendar year should be focused on more especially as how crucial it will be when preparing for the World Cup. Expect in the Gold Cup and in friendlies for the "A" team to be employed as this will be the last chance for Pochettino to see which players he's going to bring to the World Cup. While in some matches the results won't matter, but performances will. The Gold Cup and Nation's League are must win tournaments as it will help prepare to play competitively for the World Cup, but let this year be what we will see what Pochettino does for the USMNT.
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