The United States men’s national team played its first major match under coach Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday night.

The USMNT visits Jamaica in the first leg of a two-legged quarter-final in the Concacaf Nations League.

The Americans split their first two friendlies under Pochettino in September. They won at home against Panama and lost away to Mexico with a depleted squad.

Thursday’s match begins a two-game series against Jamaica during the November international break. The winner of the series will advance to the Nations League semi-finals to be held in March.

Date: Thursday, November 14

Thursday is the first real test of the Pochettino era.

This will be one of the rare chances the USMNT will get to play in a competitive environment on home soil ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The USMNT’s minimum expectation is to win everything at the continental level, and this has also been true of the Nations League since its launch in 2019. The USMNT is three for three in Nations League championships.

A regular all-star lineup is available for Pochettino on Thursday. Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah and Antonee Robinson are among the players selected for the starting squad.

Goalkeeper and forward remain the most elusive positions in the USMNT talent pool.

Matt Turner and Zack Steffen were two of four goalkeepers called up for the November Nations League matches. There are two other young netminders in camp, but they are not expected to start over the two experienced international players.

Pochettino may be willing to split the November starts between Turner and Steffen, who have 76 international caps between them, but a clear No.1 goalkeeper has yet to emerge.

Ricardo Pepi should be selected as the person who will be in the November squad in the future. Josh Sargent and Haji Wright are currently dealing with injuries.

Pepi could use the Nations League quarter-finals as an opportunity to shine in front of the new manager. The football player, who has 11 goals in 31 international matches in the Eredivisie with PSV this season, has six goals.

Brandon Vazquez is the other candidate to come out on top. The Monterrey forward is not in as brilliant form as he was in Liga MX last year, but he has three goals in six games in the new Liga MX season.

Pochettino may be tempted to start his more experienced players away on Thursday, before fielding a more attack-friendly squad at home on Monday.

Jamaica might be one of the toughest teams to break down with three-time MLS Goalkeeper of the Year Andre Blake in net.

The Reggae Boyz have allowed one goal in their last four games, so don’t expect the Americans to overlook many chances.

A draw in Kingston would be a good result, but if the Americans win it will most likely be by a small margin.

Prediction: USMNT 0, Jamaica 0