March 20 – As United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) coach, Maurico Pochettino, embarks on his first international tournament in the Concacaf Nations League, he’s already got a headache or three after losing a trio of highly influential players to injury ahead of his team’s semi-final versus Panama on Thursday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Missing from the squad will be Real Betis midfield engine, Johnny Cardoso, Glasgow Celtic center back, Auston Trusty, and perhaps most damaging of all, Fulham left back, Antonee Robinson, who has been having the finest campaign of his career.
Robinson (pictured), who has a staggering 10 assists this season, second to only Liverpool’s Mo Salah, will miss out due to an undisclosed ailment, despite playing the full 90 minutes versus Tottenham Hotspur last weekend in the English Premier League.
Cardoso misses out due to a muscle injury, while Trusty has a nagging calf injury that saw him miss the ‘Old Firm’ derby that his hoops lost 3-2 to Rangers.
These absences will pose some interesting and perhaps troublesome problems for Pochettino as he navigates a tricky tie with Panama, who beat the US in their last competitive match-up at last year’s Copa America.
Poch has replaced the trio with three players from Major League Soccer (MLS) in the form of Columbus Crew defender, Max Arfsten, Chicago Fire midfielder, Brian Gutierrrez, and Houston Dynamo’s, Jack McGlynn.
How this will affect the formation is unclear, however Pochettino may be forced to go with an unfamiliar back three or the more tried and tested back four with either Tim Ream or Joe Scally filling in for Robinson.
All three players are fairly new to the squad having just been called up in the January training camp that saw the team play two friendlies versus Venezuela and Costa Rica.
Regardless of who plays, they’ll be led by a highly confident coach who recently said: “We need to congratulate the federation, and all the donors involved, who are helping to grow the sport, because it’s No. 1 in the world. Because in five or 10 years, for sure we can be No. 1 in the world. It could be.”
The three-time Nations League Champion comes into this weekend as the odds-on-favourite, so Pochettino will be hoping for number 1 in the region on Sunday evening.
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1742480267labto1742480267ofdlr1742480267owedi1742480267sni@o1742480267fni1742480267