Little by little building something. The objective is 2026," Pochettino said of a game where Musah scored his first U.S. national team goal in his 42nd appearance. “It's only the first step.”

The USMNT did not play a beautiful game in their first game under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino, but they got the result they wanted and a clear first step in the direction of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The U.S. men's national team era under new head coach Mauricio Pochettino got off to a solid start against Panama in an international friendly. AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah opened the scoring in the early on in the second half to give the Stars and Stripes 1–0 lead.