September has begun and there’s still no sign of Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentinian tactician remains heavily linked to sit on the vacant chair of the USMNT, but there’s no update on his arrival. While the hope to see him in the dugout for the Canada clash looks unrealistic, there’s at least an expectation from Pochettino that he’s ‘making the decisions’ instead of interim coach Mikey Varas.

USMNT released their rosters yesterday for their first clash against Canada on September 7, Saturday at Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park, followed by another clash against New Zealand on September 10, Tuesday at TQL Stadium. Though Pochettino won’t be greasing his hands on the tactical board for these friendlies, ESPN FC host Sebastian Salazar at least wants the 52-year-old to remain involved from behind.

“I hope that they’re leaning on him,” said Salazar on Futbol Americas, reacting to the announced roster. “I hope he’s making every selection around this roster—making the lineups, diagramming the subs for Mikey Varas—I want him to have all the influence. Otherwise, my opinion would be, it’s a wasted window.”

Salazar remarked that ardent domestic soccer fans aren’t quite the admirers of the September window. And if they get to know that Pochettino didn’t have his hand behind the selected roster or game plan for the upcoming friendlies, then they may be in for a backlash. “If he’s [Mauricio] not taking the shot and making the decisions here, it’s a waste if it’s just Mikey Varas running these guys out for fulfilling television contracts and stuff like that. I hope this is Mauricio Pochettino’s team,” concluded Salazar.

Take the fellow American ladies, for instance. Twila Kilgore took charge of the USWNT when Emma Hayes was still curtaining her tenure at Chelsea. Yet, the English manager was wholly involved as one of the brains for their friendly clashes before June. Both Kilgore and Hayes spend hours on the phone discussing tactics, players, and whatnot.

Similar is expected from Pochettino, especially given that Jesse Marsch is quite serious about the September window. Either way, only the pre-match presser will tell us the realistic story regarding the involvement of the former Tottenham boss in this team. For now, hear a completely different story regarding the arrival of Pochettino that may upset many!

Even USMNT players are not sure if Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival is ‘final’

USMNT defender Tim Ream addressed the potential arrival of Mauricio Pochettino during the pre-match press conference ahead of facing the Canucks. He shared what he and his teammates remain aware of, stating, “We know as much as everybody else. We were updated a few weeks ago that the search was moving in a positive direction and, at this point, that’s where everybody’s at.” 

The disappointment doesn’t end here: “We have been told that when something happens we will know, and everybody else, pretty quickly after. So we are updated, but we have not been told anything is final up to this point,” he concluded. This certainly wasn’t the update that fans would like to hear. The longer this process continues, the more it could lead to frustration among the players and the supporters.

It’s also unfortunate the former PSG boss isn’t there to make his debut in the September window. Regardless, it remains to be seen if Mauricio will remain involved, even though the official announcement is yet to be made.