The MLS-heavy squad taking part in the US men’s national team’s January camp in Florida gets one more chance to make an impression on coach Mauricio Pochettino and his staff on Wednesday night, as the Yanks host Costa Rica at Orlando City’s Inter&Co Stadium.
“I think we keep focusing on some of the principles of play that we've been working on this week; obviously a good result for us against Venezuela in Miami [a 3-1 win on Saturday],” defender Walker Zimmerman said in remarks distributed by U.S. Soccer over the weekend. “Now driving up to Orlando, a chance to get a good recovery in and then ultimately have some other guys go on the field take advantage of their opportunities, same way that the other guys did against Venezuela.
“We've talked over and over about how important January camps can be for players getting their first cap, first couple of caps, just as a chance to improve and impress. And that's what Poch and his staff have been preaching — the whole camp is about taking advantage of your chance when you get it. And so that's exactly what we're going to do on Wednesday.”
As much as broadcasting, data analysis and other modern technology have transformed how coaches can observe and evaluate players around the world, there’s still no substitute for time spent face-to-face on the training ground. That was a central message from Pochettino as he addressed the media in his matchday-1 press conference Tuesday morning, extolling the usefulness of working up close with so many current and future USMNTers over the past two-plus weeks.
“It is not the same to be seeing them in their teams, how they perform, to then having them for two weeks. The possibility of having them here, in the end the confidence that they transmit to us, that is what makes us make certain types of decisions correctly. And that for us is of incalculable value,” the Argentine said in Spanish.
“There are many players that we are thinking, ‘well, this player is at the level of players who have been competing [on the USMNT],’ and that gives us peace of mind, knowing that we have replacements for the future or that we can have main players who can gain a place.”
Making their mark
Might we see more of rising stars like Charlotte FC’s Patrick Agyemang, one of Saturday’s standouts with a goal and a penalty kick earned on his international debut, in future USMNT gatherings? Poch sounded bullish when asked about him on Tuesday.
“He has a really good profile [as] a striker, and for us, I think can be very, very, very useful,” said Pochettino of the imposing frontrunner. “So happy, because he's still young, still has room to improve, but his attitude and his condition are great. I was so happy, I am so happy with him, with the performance, attitude and everything, and his performance was really, really good.
"I think he's capable to add a different condition to the team that sometimes we were missing a little bit. Yes, I think it's a very good alternative on the front for us.”
Asked about Real Salt Lake attacker Diego Luna, the coach also sounded bullish, albeit perhaps ready for a longer look at his capacity to balance his creative gifts with the tactical responsibilities expected of him.
“I was talking with him,” said Pochettino of Luna, “I need his feeling on which place, which part of the pitch, he feels better. What I expect from him is to be free on the pitch when we have the ball, to respect a certain position, because I think the positional game is really important, to give the reference to your team, but in the last third, to use his talent, his capacity to be the player like I like, be a playmaker… tomorrow is a great opportunity for him, and for the team, to keep evolving.
“Of course, we always need the balance, a good balance on the team. When we don't have the ball, we need to commit with a team and fight and run and press, try to recover the ball as soon as possible. But what I’m going to be more focusing is when we have the ball and [for Luna to] be the player that we expect that he can be.”
Tico test
This friendly is also a de facto audition for Los Ticos, who have called in a similarly domestic-based roster of their own for their first match under new manager Miguel “Piojo” Herrera, the charismatic, controversial Mexican coach who’s made headlines with his homeland’s national team and several of LIGA MX’s biggest clubs.
“It is an unknown, because of the new coach. Everything we have seen so far from Costa Rica will surely have different nuances,” said Pochettino. “We know quite well about the constant evolution of football in Costa Rica and the technical players that they have. So in that sense we are quite well immersed in how a Costa Rican player competes. We expect a competitive match, of course, and to enjoy, because in the end football is about having a good time.
“For us, we continue implementing our ideas with another group of players, but that will also be important for the future. And as in this country, it is not about winning, it is also about winning by playing well, being protagonists.”
