March 16 – The Concacaf Nations Leagues title has had one owner, the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT), and they have taken home the trophy on all three occasions it has been contested, however, in 2025 they might not get it all their own way.
On Thursday, the USMNT ranked 16th in the world by FIFA, will meet Panama, currently ranked 36th however, the Red Tide have won two of the last three encounters, although they did lose to the Americans in October, by a 2-0 scoreline in Austin, Texas.
This semifinal match-up pits two coaches who have locked horns on the field of play in Spain’s La Liga on multiple occasions. USMNT top man, Mauricio Pochettino was a hard-nosed center-back who took no prisoners in his time with Espanyol, while Thomas Christiansen loved nothing better than finding the back of the net for Oviedo and Villarreal before moving to VfL Bochum where he became the top scorer in the Bundesliga during the 2002 season.
While Christiansen has been in the job for over four years now compiling a record that reads, P71, W34, D14, & L23, Pochettino is still wet behind the ears when it comes to international management as this will be just his ninth game overseeing the Stars and Stripes.
The Argentine does have a more impressive resume when it comes to club football having been at Southampton, Chelsea, and most successfully at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League as well as stints with Espanyol and French giants, Paris Saint Germain.
Former French International, Thierry Henry recently said: “It is very essential to see how [Pochettino is] going to go about it tactically and how he’s going to put his team out there and how he’s going to be able to motivate them to be able to do something outstanding that might go down in the history of the country.”
Henry also noted the importance of these matches for nations that have qualified as hosts for 2026 as competitive matches may be in short supply. “Preparation is going to be key,” noting how in the coming months the USMNT are “not going to be able to play against big teams,” perhaps making tournaments like the Nations League that much more important when taking in the bigger picture.
Pochettino understands that the pressure is beginning to ramp up after a series of friendlies that has seen his team win every match bar a 2-0 loss to Mexico in Guadalajara.
“This is a massive opportunity to win a trophy and that is our clear objective. We must continue to show our quality, our bravery and our commitment to each other. We have an important moment to represent our country and our supporters, and we are very excited for this opportunity,” he said.
Christiansen, born in Denmark, but who represented Spain internationally, hasn’t had the success of his counterpart in the domestic game with Leeds United being his most prominent role, however, he did take Panama to the runners-up spot in the 2023 Gold Cup.
In the 2024 editions of the Nations Leagues, Christiansen, ran into Mexico during the semifinal stage and lost 3-0 but in their most recent competitive match against the US during the group stage of the Copa America tournament, they played superbly and beat the Americans, 2-1. A result that cost, the previous head coach, Greg Berhalter his job, and forced the Federation’s hand into hiring Pochettino.
“We are here to work and get results and what we all want is for Panama to qualify for all competitions, do a good job and above all, get back to pleasing the fans. That is the objective, but to do that you have to work very well and hard.”
Thursday will be the 29th all-time meeting between the two countries, and incredibly the 28th since 2004. The US holds a dominating advantage W18, D7 and L3.
This USA are the bookies favourites at around 1.32 with Panama offering over 8.2 for a win.
Writers Prediction: USA 3-1 Panama
Contact the writer of this story, Nick Webster, at moc.l1742210750labto1742210750ofdlr1742210750owedi1742210750sni@o1742210750fni1742210750