Pochettino to coach 1st Nations League game for USA in St. Louis

New United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino will manage his first Concacaf Nations League game on Nov. 18 in St. Louis after U.S. Soccer on Monday confirmed Citypark for the quarterfinal home leg.

The match will be Pochettino’s first at home game in official competition. His first matches are friendlies against Panama on Oct. 12 at Austin, Texas, and Mexico three days later in Guadalajara.

The game will be at St. Louis’ Citypark, which opened for Major League Soccer’s 2023 season. The first game of the two-leg series will be Nov. 14 or 15. The opponent will be determined by group stage matches in October.

The U.S. has won the first three editions of the tournament, in 2021, ’23 and ’24.

Pochettino was hired to replace Gregg Berhalter, who was fired following the Americans’ first-round elimination at the Copa América.

The top four teams in the Concacaf ranking index enter the Nations League at the two-legged home-and-away quarterfinal stage, while teams from 12 other countries will compete for the remaining four berths in the group stage played during the September and October international windows.

“This competition is an important part of our preparation for the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Pochettino said. “As the holders, we want to defend this title and build this winning mentality.”