When Mauricio Pochettino named his US squad for the November window, few could have expected the matches to double as his brief lame duck spell. A week of camp, on the other hand, brought constant media coverage, effective negotiations and questions about the future of the national team. Next Wednesday, his day job will take him far from the federation’s headquarters in Fayetteville, Ga., as he hopes to make sense of Manchester United.
Saturday finally allowed Pochettino and his players to achieve the goal they were looking for through this window, and they reached the quarter-finals of the Concacaf Nations League with aplomb. The United States opened its home-and-home series against Haiti with a dominant 6-0 victory in front of a considerably pro-Haitian crowd in Miami. Auston Trusty scored the only goal of the first half before Julian Hall, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun contributed to the final rout.
Concacaf allowed Haiti to host the match in Miami under an “exceptional hosting arrangement” due to ongoing political unrest and gang violence in Port-au-Prince.
Pochettino’s penultimate roster as US coach builds on the momentum fostered during the previous international window. Tyler Adams retained the captain’s armband after being made permanent captain in September, a decision Pochettino’s successor would be wrong to reverse.
Trusty partnered Chris Richards between the first-choice full-back tandem of Antonee Robinson and Alex Freeman. Pulisic and McKennie made their first international appearances since the World Cup. Diego Kochen and Hall started in goal and forward respectively, as two members of an up-and-coming generation who made their mass debuts in the previous window.
A major development under Pochettino led to the first goal of the match. Midway through his tenure, Pochettino reduced Pulisic’s control of dead balls, opening the door to alternatives after the Milan winger too consistently sent his deliveries to the first defender. Malik Tillman made the most of this change by scoring two goals from direct free kicks in the World Cup round of 16. It also helped Sebastian Berhalter establish himself in a starring role, going from an uncapped outsider when Pochettino arrived to an every-game option capable of filling multiple roles in midfield.
In the ninth minute, Freeman took a free kick down the right flank about 30 yards from goal. Berhalter stood above as players gathered in the penalty area, curling his shot around the crowd and beyond the far post. Trusty arrived without a defender, heading the ball towards the right post for his second international goal.
VAR took some time to confirm that Trusty had remained in play for such a clear run, and the Celtic defender had plenty to think about in the meantime. It was his first on-field action in nearly a month, having last played on Oct. 15 following the death of his father, Walt. The decision was met with a round of emphatic applause from Trusty as his teammates returned to celebrate with him for a second time.
Yet the Grenadiers threatened the United States with greater offensive ambition than Mexico or Canada in the previous window. Backed by a vociferous support, Haiti sustained an intense, swarming press whenever the Americans had possession in their defensive third. In the 16th minute, Danley Jean Jacques produced a powerful effort after a quick Haitian break, but Kochen parried the shot away from any potential follow-up. Lenny Joseph found another opening shortly after the half hour mark, only for Richards to time his sliding block expertly.
The teams converged on midfield around the 40th minute after an exchange between Adams and Josué Casimir, with the Haitian striker appearing to try to slap Berhalter after the American midfielder intervened on his captain’s behalf. Guatemalan referee Walter López ultimately gave yellow cards to Casimir and Berhalter, and the rest of the half played out in disjointed fashion, with neither team appearing to want to back down.
The second half maintained this intensity, with both teams leaving a little extra in their challenges. Haiti felt it had an offensive free kick in the 52nd minute after Tillman brought down Casimir from behind. As the away faithful booed, the United States broke down the flank with a sequence of assists, Pulisic carrying in the final third before sliding the ball left to Robinson.
The left-back played it back into the box for the onrushing Hall, whose movement gave him time to pick his spot. The 18-year-old comfortably sent his effort into the net. Despite only making his debut in September, Hall already has four goals in five appearances for the United States, a tally he looks set to build on for years to come. Only two other Americans have scored four international goals before turning 20: Pulisic and Gio Reyna.
Hall’s appearance Saturday also officially tied him to the United States, ending any possibility of a one-time transfer to Poland, which had courted the teenager.
Hall continued to torment Haiti’s central defenders. Five minutes after his goal, he drew defenders towards him before playing a smart backheel into the path of Pulisic. Carlens Arcus tripped the Milan striker as he tried in vain to reach the bouncing ball. It was a simple penalty decision for López.
Pulisic made no mistake from the spot, opting for power as he headed his effort straight towards the middle as goalkeeper Alexandre Pierre dived helplessly. The American star headed to the corner flag for a smiling celebration with a group of young fans before exchanging high-fives with his teammates.
It was his 34th international goal, tying him with Eric Wynalda for fourth on the program’s all-time goalscoring charts. Their joint position lasted only 32 seconds.
Haiti squandered possession from the ensuing kickoff, handing the ball to the Americans in their own half. Freeman swept a pass through the middle, where Pulisic regained possession and created a shooting opportunity from over 20 yards out. There was little Pierre could do to stop it, and suddenly the U.S. had a four-goal lead with more than two hours remaining in both matches.
Much of Pochettino’s tenure has been spent imploring his players to never give up, no matter the score, and the United States has taken that message to heart. McKennie separated from Joseph on a free kick in the 68th minute, heading in his 13th international goal and his first since March 28.
Haiti still tried to make up part of its deficit, catching the young Kochen in no man’s land a few minutes later with a ball passed over the high American defensive line. The nominal home support broke when Casimir collected the long ball and found Joseph in the box for a comfortable finish. But VAR determined that Casimir had strayed offside by the narrowest of margins, with his big toe enough to rule out the consolation goal.
In truth, there wasn’t much left to decide. Balogun appeared to score his first American goal since his ill-fated last-16 appearance against Belgium, only for VAR to controversially rule him out for an apparent infraction. Balogun needed no contact with defenders to make up ground five minutes later, slipping between two opponents before entering the box and pushing past Pierre.
The first failed effort and the second legitimate one elicited the same celebration from a smiling Balogun: a pantomime tap of his watch, “it’s damn time,” in so many words.
The rest of the year will probably be just as problem-free. US Soccer is not expected to name Pochettino’s successor until the new year, with Olympic team coach Steve Cherundolo set to act as interim manager for the December friendly window. There is currently a sombre party atmosphere surrounding the team, attacking with fearlessness and showing considerable fighting spirit when games get tricky. All that remains for Pochettino before taking over at Manchester United is to take a 6-0 lead in Tuesday’s second leg at Cincinnati.
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