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.”

Mauricio Pochettino won his debut as U.S. coach, getting a 49th-minute goal from Yunus Musah off an assist from AC Milan teammate Christian Pulisic and a stoppage-time strike from Ricardo Pepi for a 2-0 win over Panama.

Mauricio Pochettino said he was happy, though at times it was hard to tell. Yes, the United States men's national team had prevailed 2-0 over Panama in his first match in charge. But what had transpired was definitely a mixed bag.