Mauricio Pochettino instills new belief in U.S. team during win over Panama

For all the fascination with Mauricio Pochettino’s team selection and tactics for his opening game in charge of the United States, perhaps the most significant evidence of the Argentine’s impact came in the opening 15 minutes of Saturday’s 2-0 win over Panama.

A team that had won just once in its last seven games, all on home soil, and had suffered a dismal early exit from July’s Copa America, showed no lingering signs of those disappointments as the players zipped the ball around the field, looking hungry for possession.

The team’s opponent, one of the tougher sides to face in the CONCACAF region at the moment, had dealt former coach Gregg Berhalter the deadly blow of a defeat in the Copa group stage, but there was no sign of fear in the way that the Americans took to the task at Q2 Stadium.