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Sports Illustrated
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Max Mallow

USMNT Coach's New Look Draws Comparison to Iconic TV Coach

Mauricio Pochettino is drawing comparisons to Coach Taylor from Friday Night Lights. | John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

US men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino is leading his first round of training sessions in Texas with the team ahead of friendlies with Panama and Mexico. Photos from training have drawn online comparisons to one of the most iconic TV coaches in the US.

Men in Blazers highlighted Pochettino's fashion and how he undeniably looks like Coach Eric Taylor from Friday Night Lights. "Just two guys coaching ball in Texas."

He might not have Coach Taylor's iconic band strap, but the comparison is uncanny. Now, if only Pochettino can deliver the same silverware for the USMNT that Taylor did with the Dillon Panthers.

USMNT Coach's New Look Draws Comparison to Iconic TV Coach

Does that make Christian Pulisic the Matt Saracen of the team?

Not to mention, if there's ever a TV or movie adaptation telling Pochettino's story of how he led the USMNT to glory at the 2026 World Cup, Kyle Chandler has to be the odds-on favorite to portray the Argentine.


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USMNT faces off against off against Panama at 9 p.m. on Oct. 12 before facing its biggest CONCACAF rival, Mexico, on Oct. 15. Pochettino will want to endear himself to the fan base early by playing an exciting brand of soccer. There's less than two years to go until the 2026 World Cup on home soil, is the motto "Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose?"

Or is it, "Clear eyes, full hearts, just make it to the knockout stage please?"


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This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT Coach's New Look Draws Comparison to Iconic TV Coach.

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