Mauricio Pochettino’s US honeymoon is over, but it’s not time to panic

Mauricio Pochettino’s side did not look up to the task v Panama. Photograph: Étienne Laurent/AP

On the eve of what turned out to be his first loss in a competitive match in charge of the United States men’s national team and the end of his honeymoon with his newish employers, Mauricio Pochettino said something accidentally prescient.

“Football is about timing and it’s about form and the situation of the player,” he said to a room of reporters ahead of the US’s 1-0 loss to Panama.