USMNT film breakdown: How Mauricio Pochettino tactically dominated Jamaica

United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino ended his first competitive international window with two wins against Jamaica in the CONCACAF Nations League, the second of which was a 4-2 thrashing at Energizer Park in St. Louis.

Albeit against weaker competition than the U.S. will see at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this was the first true look at Pochettino’s influence as the USMNT’s manager. Let’s take a deep dive into what worked — and didn’t work — for Pochettino’s USMNT in the last international window in a new FOX Sports series called “Student of the Game with Stu Holden.”

Pulisic as the No. 10

My biggest takeaway was the intensity at which the U.S. drove forward: the flexibility in possession; the different wrinkles with bringing Antonee Robinson inside, Christian Pulisic in centrally as the No. 10 and Tim Weah on the left-hand side; even Weston McKennie had a little bit more license and freedom from the middle of the field to drive beyond the back line and make a lot of different runs.

You can actually see in all the U.S. goals how good the transition play was. In the buildup to the first goal, Pulisic holds the ball up so well, then joins the attack. Once he’s higher up the pitch, McKennie finds Pulisic in Jamaica’s box, one-on-one with the keeper.

Pulisic was on the move throughout the whole game, and I loved seeing him in that role, with a little bit more freedom than we’d seen in the past. Gregg Berhalter typically used Pulisic on the left-hand side (sometimes on the right, but mostly on the left with Weah on the right), and Weah would just not come inside from the right because he’s right-footed. I really loved seeing Weah be able to come in, onto his right foot, to have the freedom to hit shots with his right, cross the ball, and also stay wide when he needed to — that’s when Antonee Robinson would come inside.

And, look, a lot of people after this past window were saying, “Well, could the U.S. do this against Spain or Germany?” But I think a big point of emphasis for Mauricio Pochettino has been trying to give the team different options; different looks to make them a little bit more unpredictable against different opponents and make it harder for opponents to scout and plan for the U.S.

Pace, pace, pace

One of the biggest criticisms of mine under Gregg Berhalter was that, although he had a real emphasis on possession and tactical shape, the team really struggled to create goals and score goals against high-level opponents. There’s no better example of that than the Uruguay game in the Copa América. The U.S. had great stretches of play, they ran with Uruguay, but then just couldn’t look dangerous.

I think this is what Pochettino’s mantra is all about: How can I get the best players on the field, put them in the best position to succeed, but also, within that — against different opponents like Jamaica, knowing that you’re going to have the ball — get Antonee Robinson to come inside and focus on the counter press and have him be a part of the buildup?

Jamaica’s most dangerous player, Leon Bailey, was forced into a decision: Do I come inside and mark Antonee Robinson, who’s a left back, and technically, is his mark? But that then takes him away from being able to stay wide and be in open space — things that make him dangerous and things he really wants to do. So, really, we saw nothing from Leon Bailey throughout that whole game, and I loved that from Pochettino.

Do I think we’re going to see that every game? No chance. I mean, I still think Antonee Robinson’s skill set is best suited when he’s on the left-hand side; when he’s overlapping; when he’s up and down; when that allows his winger, whether it’s Weah or Pulisic, to come inside, to get on the ball, have a little bit more freedom.

But I think there was structure to the system. There’s some clear ideas that have been implemented, but this was really the first game that I felt that we saw what Mauricio Pochettino is trying to get out of this team, and it was really fun and exciting, especially in that first half. Every single goal was beautiful.

The elements of it came together in one moment in the 23rd minute, where Pochettino jumps up off his touch line and he’s screaming at his players to play the ball forward. They want to be unpredictable when they have the ball and teams are in a deep block, but they feel that they have the athleticism and the ability out in transition, in the open field, to really hurt teams. And they do have runners: McKennie, Weah, Ricardo Pepi, Yunus Musah and, of course, Pulisic.

That’s the sort of thing I love to see. The U.S. felt the freedom to go and attack, and to come inside and be dynamic and make dangerous runs, even if they don’t get the ball, and then still have the creativity in the final third.

A new No. 6?

There was so much importance put on Tanner Tessman’s position against Jamaica, and he got rave reviews after the game. I’m in that same camp.

Tessman checks a lot of boxes, for me, in that No. 6 role. He has the range to be a part of the buildup and then, defensively, has the discipline to sit in the middle a little bit more, and play the long passes that can stretch and open up a defense, but then still play the short passes and keep the tempo going. He’s got good technical ability.

Tessman was one of the big winners out of this camp and the hope is that he continues to get meaningful minutes in Ligue 1 with Lyon so he can develop.

[RELATED: The 5 biggest winners from USMNT’s coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first 4 games]

Robinson is the real deal

I remember when Antonee Robinson made his debut with the United States back in 2018 — he was very raw. You could see the athletic ability that he had, you could see that he had decent technical skill on the ball, and could operate at a very high intensity and a very high pace, but he has improved so much over the last five years. I would say he’s probably been the most improved.

His crossing in the last two years, especially, has gotten so, so good when he’s in dangerous positions. Before, he would sometimes under-hit the ball. He would hit the first man and he wouldn’t find a teammate. Now, when he’s making the crosses; he’s slowing himself down a touch as well to make sure that his feet are in the right position; his body shape is good; and he’s delivering quality balls that his attacking players can get on the end of.

Robinson’s a guy that I did not expect to be one of the most indispensable and important players for the U.S. men’s national team, and at the left back position, where haven’t had an out-and-out left back that hasn’t been a converted winger like DaMarcus Beasley was, let alone somebody that can play at this level. He’s one of the first names on the team sheet; that’s what Antonee Robinson has become.

Robinson has also been challenged by Pochettino to play in the middle. I didn’t think that would be a role that would suit him or that he could handle. Oftentimes, when you’re full back, you’re facing the field a lot, so you’ve got a lot of decisions and a lot of things moving in front of you. In the back line, you don’t oten play with your back to the goal; you’re always facing the field. In the middle, you have to be able to look over your shoulder, play on the half turn and play one-two-touch in moments. I thought that he did that so incredibly well against Jamaica, and it gives the U.S. another option to potentially build.

One of the more important parts of him being used in that position by Pochettino was the countless times that he won the ball back and used his athletic ability on the opposite end to force turnovers from Jamaica, preventing them from building out of the back and getting any type of rhythm and intensity going.

It’s clear that, like Gregg Berhalter, Pochettino feels that Antonee Robinson is going to be a key player for him, and I think Robinson’s going to make a big move at the end of this year. I know Fulham are trying their best to hold on to him, but I think that he has the ability to play for a top-five Premier League team, no doubt. He’s been one of the best left backs in the Premier League, and U.S. fans should feel really good about that position for many years to come.

[RELATED: Why Jedi Robinson is the USMNT’s ultimate ‘glue guy’]

Robinson’s in the prime of his career, and I think Mauricio Pochettino can continue to add some tactical knowledge and different ways to use to his game. I fully expect him to be the starter in 2026.

The murky future at CB

Tim Ream is still our best center back and has been since the beginning of the World Cup in 2022 — he played every minute in the World Cup for the United States.

But by the time the World Cup kicks off in a year and a half, he’ll be 38 years old, and will have played another year and a half in MLS. MLS has improved, but the league is still not at the intensity of the Premier League, and it will be hard for Ream to maintain that same level that he’s been playing at for the last six or seven years in Charlotte.

It’s going to be interesting, because I think about the center backs that we have in the player pool and that are in the mix — Mark McKenzie, Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty, and, maybe, Cameron Carter-Vickers — and as I see it right now, I still think that Ream will probably be the starter for the U.S. in 2026.

We have to remember that the national team is about who is the best player in the moment and not necessarily about developing players, as we saw over the last cycle. Gregg Berhalter bet on a younger cycle of players, he tried to bring through younger players at center back, and nobody really took that next step the way that Pulisic, Musah, McKennie, Tyler Adams and that class of players did — that’s why he ended up going back to Tim Ream.

Ream continues to show why he’s so valuable to this team. He’s a left-footed passing center back that reads the game well. He puts himself in positions where, even as a 38 year old, he’s going to be just fine playing at this level. We have recent examples where guys like Pepe are playing for Portugal at the Euros despite being 40 years old. It’s been done before, especially in that position.

Would that be what I would want in 2026? No, I would love to see two young center backs emerge together, get consistent minutes and prove that they can play at a level that’s better than what Tim Ream is right now. But the reality is: that doesn’t exist. McKenzie and Richards have played on the left side at center back, but neither of them are naturally left-footed, and I think you always lose a little bit in the passing game by putting one of them in that position.

That’s where the conundrum lies. Now, it’s on McKenzie, Richards and Trusty to continue to get minutes, develop at their clubs and prove to Pochettino that they can be starters. That’s my challenge now to other center backs in the pool, and I would hope that that’s Mauricio Pochettino’s challenge to them. “We have a 37 year old center back that’s showing you guys up right now, and showing that he’s an important part of this team— can you push him out?”

It’s clear that Pochettino wants to push his full backs — Antonee Robinson and Sergino Dest when he comes back — on, so his center backs might be asked to do a lot of 1 v. 1 defending out in the open field. That’s not where you want to see Tim Ream, even if you’re building out of three in the back, which Pochettino has done with Joe Scalley that could potentially change once Dest comes back into the team.

Ream has proven that he can execute and be a voice of reason and confidence in that back line, which is important with the concepts that Pochettino is trying to implement. He showed it in 2022 at the World Cup — on that stage, playing big games, he handled himself so well and didn’t look out of place at all, and I think that that will be playing on Pochettino’s mind ahead of 2026. But I also think he needs a younger, more athletic, good in the air, type of center, back next to him.

We’ll see who, if anyone, steps up.

Stu Holden, a former midfielder for the United States men’s national team, is FOX Sports’ lead match analyst for its marquee soccer coverage.

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