As the world awaits an official announcement to (reportedly) name Mauricio Pochettino the new head coach of the USMNT, the Yanks are set to take the field for a pair of friendlies this week, beginning with Canada on Saturday (4 pm ET).
[ MORE: How will USMNT lineup versus Canada? U.S. roster for friendlies ]
Mikey Varas was named interim boss when Gregg Berhalter was fired following the USMNT’s poor showing at Copa America 2024 and will be in charge against Canada and New Zealand (Sept. 10) before he is expected to be named head coach of MLS expansion side San Diego FC (coming to the league in 2025). U.S. Soccer would have loved nothing more than to unveil and debut Pochettino this week, but legal complications have held up the appointment and will delay the Argentine’s work until October at the earliest.
As for the team itself, this is the first opportunity for a group of players — many of whom are not so young anymore, but full-fledged professionals and adults in the prime of their respective careers — to pick themselves up after encountering their first real failure on the international stage. Up until this point, it had been mostly smooth sailing (pending your views of the 2022 World Cup) since the Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie era was ushered in. They qualified for the World Cup and got out of the group, and they won the Nations League three times and the Gold Cup once.
How to watch USMNT vs Canada live, stream link and start time
Kickoff time: 4 pm ET Saturday (Sept. 7)
Venue: Children’s Mercy Park - Kansas City, Kansas
How to watch: TBS, Telemundo, Universo, Max, Peacock
USMNT vs Canada prediction
Canada was certainly the better side this summer as they made it to (and lost) the 3rd-place game at Copa America. Jesse Marsch put the pieces in place all too quickly and took the Canucks up a notch (or two). Their confidence is sky high right now, but where it’s the USMNT’s? Perhaps we’ll find out on Saturday. USMNT 1-1 Canada.