Pochettino Hints At Rotation, Tactical Switch Against Socceroos

Written by Patrick Echatah

The US Men’s National Team recently proved its resilience by coming back from an early deficit to secure a 1-1 draw against a strong Ecuador side at Austin FC’s Q2 Stadium.

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Although the American team largely controlled the game, they now feel the pressure to turn that positive performance into a victory when they face Australia tonight at 9 pm ET (TNT, HBO Max, Peacock, Universo) at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in Colorado.

“Progression is progression. And when you feel the progression, I think it’s good,” Pochettino told reporters in his matchday-1 press conference on Monday afternoon, pointing to the Socceroos’ resilient 1-0 smash-and-grab win over Canada in Montréal on Friday.

“Australia, that is a team who are very aggressive, and they came from a very good run of games.

“They beat Canada in Canada; I think we need to respect, and we really respect. They are going to be another good test, like Ecuador, for us.”

The USMNT lineup for the match at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (DSGP) will be different from the previous game. Fans are eager to see if star forward Christian Pulisic is fit enough to start, as an ankle injury limited him to a substitute appearance on Friday.

Defender Antonee “Jedi” Robinson is confirmed to be out of this second October game due to ongoing knee discomfort, according to Coach Pochettino. The coach is also looking to rotate players to give others a chance to earn more playing time.

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DSGP is an important location for US Soccer, famously hosting the 2013 “Snowclasico” World Cup qualifier win against Costa Rica.

“I think it’s going to be a good opportunity to maybe give the possibility to some players to perform and to play,” said ‘Poch’ of his personnel decisions, which also hinge on avoiding any possibility of sending members of his squad back to their clubs with injuries or excess fatigue.

He suggested they might use a different attacking strategy than the 3-4-2-1 formation, despite its recent success.”I think my answer is, if we play well against Ecuador, I think it’s a good opportunity also to keep improving and showing maybe a different approach to the game, and maybe to change the system, to change the players.”

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