INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Mauricio Pochettino took some inspiration from the movie “Miracle,” but he’s not planning to emulate Herb Brooks before the U.S. men’s national team faces Paraguay on Friday.
“I already spoke, I already talked,” the Argentine coach said in front of assembled media Thursday. “Too much. I said [to players] don’t expect an unbelievable speech Friday.”
The moment for such things is over, the need for extra motivation has passed. Pochettino spent much of the year and a half he’s been in charge of the national team wrestling with its culture, trying to get players to treat every call-up as though it were the World Cup.
Now it is the World Cup.
Pochettino believes camp has gone well. The vibes have been good. All of that will go out the window if the U.S. can’t get a result against Paraguay when the eyes of the nation turn to SoFi Stadium on Friday night.
The Post breaks down the matchup between Team USA and Paraguay.
When the U.S. has the ball
Some of the USMNT’s best offensive sequences under Pochettino’s leadership came in its last two friendlies.
Christian Pulisic, after struggling through the second half of the season at Milan, comes into this World Cup off a pair of terrific performances. Jedi Robinson and Sergiño Dest threatened both wings, Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi were dangerous up front, the ball flowed from side to side and created gaps to exploit.
The USMNT did beat Paraguay back in November, albeit in a friendly where neither team was at full strength. Dest, for parts of that game, wreaked havoc down the right side and figures to be a huge piece of the puzzle here as well.
Breaking down Paraguay’s defense, led by Omar Alderete, won’t be easy. But playing in possession is exactly what Pochettino wants to do, and his team should get that chance Friday.
The U.S. has looked vulnerable to pressing sides, and Paraguay can be aggressive when the ball is in the opposing third. Chris Richards’ return from injury should help there, and once the ball moves upfield, expect Gustavo Alfaro’s side to sit in a low block.
Paraguay will be happy to absorb pressure, depending on high-intensity, physical defending to frustrate the Americans. Pochettino started a highly offensive lineup against Germany, choosing to go with Malik Tillman in a midfield pivot next to Tyler Adams. Doing so again would be a sign Pochettino expects to have the ball often, and that he knows the U.S. will need every bit of creativity it can muster.
When Paraguay has the ball
The question hanging over Paraguay right now is the availability of Julio Enciso, its 22-year-old creative engine who’s been racing against a muscular injury.
Paraguayan media reported Thursday that Enciso — originally projected to miss Friday’s match and perhaps Paraguay’s second game as well — could play against the USMNT, though it’s not clear whether that will prove too optimistic.
If the Strasbourg midfielder does play, it’s bad news for the USMNT. Paraguay doesn’t have another player with his creativity and technical skill, though Brighton midfielder Diego Gómez isn’t far off. If Enciso can’t go, Gustavo Caballero or Alex Arce seem most likely to start in his place.
Injury questions aside, expect Paraguay to counterattack quickly from its defensive setup and look to play the ball in early.
During South American qualifying, La Albirroja crossed the ball into the box more than nearly any other team. Fullbacks Juan José Cáceres and Junior Alonso will try to get up the field and overlap in transition.
That will be the USMNT’s biggest vulnerability given the aggression with which it sets up in possession — tracking back quickly will be of massive importance for Dest, Robinson and Freeman, otherwise, Paraguay will transition with numbers.
Midfielders Andrés Cubas, Sebastian Berhalter’s teammate at Vancouver Whitecaps, and Miguel Almirón can create, play a tenacious style and win duels in midfield. The U.S. should have most of the possession, but its backline — which looked vulnerable in friendlies, albeit without Chris Richards — will get tested here.
Intangibles
No individual game of the World Cup has typified the controversy around ticket prices more than this one, which is priced higher as the host nation’s opener. In the days leading up to the game, seats were readily available and how that ends up shaking out could have a huge impact on things.
In theory, a loud, sold-out home crowd should be a huge advantage for the United States. There’s a history of home nations overachieving at World Cups, and in Mexico’s opener at the Estadio Azteca on Thursday, South Africa looked intimidated by the home crowd.
The Americans, who have regularly played in hostile environments even on home soil, were pleasantly surprised by the crowds at sendoff friendlies in Charlotte and Chicago, but there are lingering worries about what it’ll look like here.
Otherwise, it’ll be interesting to see if there’s any carryover from the sideline brawl when these two teams played in November. Freeman and Alderete — who got a red card during that incident despite not even being in the game — are both likely to start Friday, and La Albirroja will play a highly physical style.
“We know that in these games, heads can go loose as well,” Freeman said. “You can get out of your headspace and get stupid yellow cards. I think that’s what we want to avoid.”
Despite the worries, if the home nation can’t generate an advantage here, it would be a first in World Cup history.
Prediction: A hard-fought 1-0 USMNT victory
