United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino is seeking a rare win over top competition as Japan visit Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday for an international friendly.
Pochettino’s men lost 2-0 to South Korea over the weekend, a slow start dooming his controversial roster in New Jersey. The stars were few but there was hope off the bench as Folarin Balogun and Chris Richards were part of a stronger showing in the final half hour or so.
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The former Tottenham Hotspur boss is preaching positivity but there’s little doubt the overall frustration with the program will have resonated inside the walls of the team. Pochettino was surprised by the strong South Korean presence in Saturday’s home game, which has been part and parcel to USMNT games against reputed soccer nations.
Japan dominated its World Cup qualification group with 30 goals and just three concessions, taking 23 of 30 points available to them. The Samurai Blue played Mexico to a scoreless draw in Oakland over the weekend and now head across the U.S. to face the Yanks.
Brighton’s Kaoru Mitoma, Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada, and Liverpool’s Wataru Endo all started in that West Coast stalemate, and New Jersey-born goalkeeper Zion Suzuki kept a clean sheet. Japan present an even bigger challenge for the Americans than South Korea, although it could look a bit better if Pochettino eases off the cute lineup calls.
What are Mauricio Pochettino’s lineup options vs Japan?
Matt Freese was neither a star nor a goat between the sticks against South Korea, so it depends whether Pochettino wants to keep bedding in Freese as a potential World Cup No. 1 or see what he has in uncapped backups Jonathan Klinsmann and Roman Celentano.
Pochettino’s spoken well of 18-year-old Noahkai Banks, and could hand him a debut next to Chris Richards and — if Poch uses a back three — Tim Ream as well. Tristan Blackmon looked like a man making his first USMNT start against South Korea, making a few errors, but is a decent ball-playing back and could see more time.
At fullback, Sergino Dest is likely to feature again and Pochettino has regularly deployed Max Arfsten over the past few windows. Alex Freeman also played a lot this summer while Nathan Harriel did not feature versus South Korea.
Tyler Adams was atypically poor at the weekend and will likely start in a bid to right the ship. Luca de la Torre could start with him if Pochettino goes away from Sebastian Berhalter, while Jack McGlynn would love to see time in the middle of the park. There’s little reason to remove Diego Luna from the XI, while Sean Zawadzki would love a surprise start.
Josh Sargent did not see much of the ball at center forward and Folarin Balogun was very good in his substitute shift. It’s not an automatic start scenario for Balogun, as Pochettino has noted the AS Monaco man wouldn’t be overwhelmed with minutes as he’s still building back from a long-term injury. Still, that doesn’t mean he won’t have a short shift up top. Southampon’s Damion Downs could also start up top.
Christian Pulisic should again don the captain’s arm band and he may have new partners in attack as Tim Weah was injured versus South Korea. Alex Zendejas had some bright moments off the bench versus South Korea and may have done enough to push for a start.
How will Mauricio Pochettino line up the USMNT vs Japan?
Here’s a back four look, presuming Pochettino hasn’t prepped a back three idea quite enough to roll it out versus Japan.
Matt Freese
Alex Freeman — Chris Richards — Tim Ream — Sergino Dest
Tyler Adams — Luca de la Torre
Alex Zendejas — Diego Luna — Christian Pulisic
Folarin Balogun
But if Pochettino shakes things up and goes for three at the back, here’s how it could look:
Matt Freese
Noahkai Banks — Chris Richards — Tim Ream
Sergino Dest — Tyler Adams — Luca de la Torre — Max Arfsten
Alex Zendejas — Folarin Balogun — Christian Pulisic
AloJapan.com