The U.S. men’s national team might only be two training sessions in under new boss Mauricio Pochettino but the players have already noticed a major change in the overall atmosphere.
Tuesday marked the second training session for the USMNT as they prepare for Saturday’s home friendly vs. CONCACAF rivals Panama. The full squad was in action as all 25 players aim to impress Pochettino and his coaching staff for a chance to start in the first match under the Argentine.
While there is always going to be added energy when a new manager takes over, left back Antonee Robinson admitted the squad jumped right into training on Monday which was a change compared to former head coach, Gregg Berhalter.
“Yeah, straight away it seems a little bit more intense,” Robinson said in a press conference Tuesday. “Usually lads getting in on a Monday or getting in on Sunday and training on the Monday. If you’ve played on Saturday, it’s kind of like you’re not doing a lot of your recovery on the bike.
“Yesterday we were kind of straight into training and it was a tough session. So we were kind of right away we were here to work. So, it was definitely intense.. and then he knows that we’ve got a short period of time to kind of understand the principles he wants us to play with and tactics and whatnot, which we’ve not really gotten into yet. So, yes, obviously small steps, but it definitely feels like camp’s going to be a period where, we’ll have time to enjoy it, but we’re going to work hard and really build towards success.”
Robinson is one of several players back in USMNT camp this month after not being part of the September pair of home friendlies vs. Canada and New Zealand. Zack Steffen and Gianluca Busio are also part of Pochettino’s first squad while Alex Zendejas, Brandon Vazquez, and Tanner Tessmann were added as injury replacements for Folarin Balogun, Tim Weah, and Johnny Cardoso.
U.S. Soccer’s hiring of Pochettino is ultimately one of the largest in federation history, providing the USMNT with a major chance to grow as a program before the 2026 FIFA World Cup. With over 15 years of managerial experience to the table, Pochettino’s has already excited his new players including veteran centerback Tim Ream.
“There were a lot of individual conversations, understanding us as people and they’ve continued throughout,” Ream said about Pochettino’s first days on the job. “Obviously, I had my conversation [with the coaching staff] right when I showed up on Sunday. Then as hours have ticked by, you see certain guys getting pulled to have sit-down chats. I think it’s great.
“They want to get to know us and obviously we want to get to know them,” he added. “The message is that he wants to win. He has his principles, he has his ideas, but at the end of the day it’s about winning. It’s important to have that mentality. It’s important to have that mindset going forward leading into these games and beyond that.”
