USA Routs Haiti A Day After Pochettino-to-Man United Becomes Official: 5 Takeaways

NU STADIUM (Miami) — In its first competitive match since the 2026 World Cup — and its penultimate game with Mauricio Pochettino as the coach before the Argentine takes over Manchester United — the U.S. men’s national team trounced Haiti on Saturday in the opening leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal. 

Center back Auston Trusty opened the USA’s account in the first half when he redirected a Sebastian Berhalter free kick past Les Grenadiers keeper Alexandre Pierre, Christian Pulisic scored twice and 18-year-old striker Julian Hall converted his fourth goal in five games since making his debut in September. Midfielder Weston McKennie added the fifth before striker Folarin Balogun came off the bench to complete the scoring with about eight minutes of regular time remaining.

Saturday’s contest was played in front of a heavily pro-Haitian crowd in South Florida; the Caribbean country was given permission by Concacaf to host its “home” leg at Inter Miami’s recently opened 27,000-seat venue because of security issues in Port-au-Prince, the nation’s capital. The Miami area boasts the largest Haitian ex-patriot population in the U.S.

The teams meet again on Tuesday in Cincinnati in the back half of the aggregate-goals-wins series, with the Stars and Stripes now all but certain to advance to March’s final four in Los Angeles.

Here are my takeaways from Saturday’s contest.

The USA kicked off preparations for the opener under a cloud of speculation. Before all 25 of the players Pochettino summoned had even reported to U.S. Soccer’s training center in greater Atlanta, there were reports that the former Chelsea, Tottenham and Southampton boss could be bound for Old Trafford. Veteran defender Antonee “Jedi” Robinson admitted that he and his teammates were aware of the news, but that it would be business as usual until the 54-year-old’s departure was confirmed. Other players said the same in the days that followed, though by Thursday the sense of inevitability had become obvious. Pochettino told his players that morning.

On Friday, both U.S. Soccer and Manchester United made it official.

The American players handled the situation professionally during the week, but Saturday was always going to tell the real story.

And to their credit, there was no sign that the roller-coaster of emotions they’d experienced in the days prior had any impact on how they performed. Not negatively, anyway. Against a notoriously physical and stingy Haiti team, which played in the World Cup for the first time in more than five decades earlier this year, the U.S. was sharp and committed. It’s clear they want to send Poch off on a high note. After 90 dominant minutes, they’re halfway there.

“They were very, very professional from Day 1 when they started to see all the rumors,” Pochettino told me in his post-match press conference.  “We feel so proud about the players and how they managed this type of situation.” 

No player took more heat for the Americans’ lopsided, World Cup-ending 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16 than the program’s longtime headliner. The criticism of Pulisic, who went scoreless in four games, didn’t subside even after it was revealed that he’d suffered a double microfracture in his right leg. 

But the 28-year-old has been rounding into form with AC Milan in recent weeks, and in his first appearance for his country since the World Cup, he earned Man of the Match honors on the strength of his brace — the first time he’s scored twice in one game a U.S. jersey since June 2023.

“It was great to see everyone, great performance from the team, good to be back in the mix and scoring some goals and winning the game,” Pulisic said. “I’m happy. Hopefully, I can score a few more.”

Heading into the final FIFA window of 2026, the 28-year-old had been enjoying a career year. With just five caps to his credit beforehand, the left-footed center-back parlayed a strong March camp into a World Cup roster spot, then scored against Türkiye in the tournament co-hosts’ final group stage match.

He and Chris Richards anchored the USA’s back line last month in a 3-0 victory over Mexico in front of a huge pro-El Tri crowd in Arizona.

But Trusty and his family suffered a tragedy a few weeks later, when his father, Walt, died. The Philadelphia area native took a leave from Celtic, his Scottish club, and hadn’t played at all in almost a whole month, since Celtic’s 4-1 Europa League loss to Benfica on Oct. 15.

He scored less than 10 minutes into his return. “To score that goal and also to have the win today, it really meant a lot,” he said. “The past few weeks have been very, very tough. Probably the toughest of my life.

“I’m very, very proud to score today.”

The USA’s second goal was a beautiful team effort. It started more than 100 yards away from Pierre’s net, with six passes between Alex Freeman, McKennie, Berhalter, Pulisic, and Robinson before Hall finished the sequence with aplomb.

U.S. fans had reason to celebrate beyond Hall’s latest goal. Because this was an official game, and because Hall had already made more than three appearances for the Americans, he’s permanently cap-tied to the country for the rest of his international career. The New York City product had previously been eligible for Poland through his mother. Three subs – Mathis Albert, Justin Ellis, Adri Mehmeti – also became cap-tied when they came off the bench. 

“It’s an honor to play for this country,” Hall told me. “I’m just looking forward to keep making an impact.” 

Saturday’s victory was the fifth in a row for the U.S. after the exhibition wins over El Tri, Canada, Chile and Peru earlier this fall. In what is expected to be a pro-USA crowd in southern Ohio next week, Pochettino’s team will try to send him off with a perfect 6-0 record before he takes over Man United next Wednesday.

“We just have to try to continue to grow as a team,” Pulisic said. “He brought a lot of excitement to the team, so I think he’ll leave that behind.”