Many soccer fans around the world may not like international breaks, especially having a second one this early in the season. For USMNT fans though, this window can’t come soon enough.

Why? Because Mauricio Pochettino is here, for real, and he has announced his first USMNT squad for the friendlies this month against Panama and Mexico.

These are the 25 players chosen by the new head coach:

GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)

DEFENDERS (8): Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic) 

MIDFIELDERS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven) 

FORWARDS (6): Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Timothy Weah (Juventus), Haji Wright (Coventry City)

During the press conference after the squad release, Pochettino said he didn’t make too many changes from the previous squads.

“You are going to see a very similar roster from the last camp for different reasons,” the Argentine said.

“One of the reasons is some of the players may have issues with injuries and whatnot. But every single player in this squad deserves an opportunity to be with us.”

“We really trust the opinion and the information we received from the national team.”

He also admitted that he was having some visa issues to enter the U.S. and he has not spoken to any players in the squad, except Antonne Robinson, someone he met at a restaurant in London by chance.

“I’m going to be honest, I met only one player. Antonee Robinson,” Pochettino said when asked if he talked to any players.

“I met him because they were at dinner, with his team in London. And I met him.”

“I said hello and we were talking. Some players at Fulham were my players in Tottenham and Southampton. Like Harrison Reed and [Ryan] Sessegnon, and they introduced me to Antonee.”

“It was a very good chat that we shared. I told him you’re going to be an exception because I haven’t spoken to anyone and you are going to be the first. You have the privilege to talk with me [laughs].”

“We didn’t have time. To be honest, I didn’t have time and I didn’t want to call just for the reason of calling some guys over the others. I think all players deserve the same way for us to operate.”

“Of course after this camp, we are going to be more in contact and we plan to speak not only to players in this squad but also players with potential. We are going to create links and relationships and look after them. We want them to know there are opportunities if they perform well. Not only players in Europe but also in MLS.”

One thing people are excited about is how Pochettino is going to change the playing style of the USMNT, especially given his experience managing the top clubs in Europe.

The Argentine said he is currently thinking of running a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1 formation.

“I am excited to see them in action and how we are going to find the right balance,” he said.

“In the beginning, we are not going to create too much chaos. We are going to be using two systems. One is 4-2-3-1 and one is 4-3-3. From there, we will develop our way to play, and see how we can adapt and create partnerships,”

'We want to be very exciting going forward, being a protagonist, and that is the way we want to perform. Soccer needs to be an exciting for USA citizens, they need to enjoy every time they go to the stadium.”

“If we want to win, we need to play closer to the opposition goal. But if we lose the ball, we are going to be very very demanding and desperate to recover as soon as possible. We need to work together and we need to show that we are a real team.”

“Look at Argentina, who won the Copa América and the World Cup. Of course they have great players going forward but when they don’t have the ball, they work like a team and really follow their principles.”

“We need to be very strong defensively and be competitive, it’s not just to play nice football. I follow the media now in USA, more than you believe, and some pundits say we need to play a creative and exciting way but when we don’t have the ball, we need to defend and strong. I agree with them, we can’t concede too many goals.”

One thing to note is despite Pochettino’s experience at the top level, he’s never managed a national team before. Managing a club and a national team is very different, and he touched on that topic.

‘It’s not easy to be a coach and it’s more difficult being a coach in the national team,” Pochettino said.

“Players arrive from clubs tired, traveling, and with all the pressure they suffer in clubs. So it’s important to find a good balance for them. They need to be happy and enjoy being in the camp.”

“Being professional is important also but it is our responsibility to create a nice environment. They need to enjoy being together, playing nice football, playing with freedom, and helping the national team earn all that we want.”

“It’s completely different being in management in club and national team because it is our job to analyze and provide the best tools for the players individually.”

“If the player needs to rest a little bit more. If the player needs to work in physical condition because they don’t play much with their club. If the player is playing too many games with their clubs and need to be reduced with their physical work and work more in emotional or psychological or tactical way.”

"It’s going to be a real challenge but very exciting challenge for us.”

Pochettino may not have experience managing national teams, but he did play 20 times for Argentina under Marcelo Bielsa, so he knows what type of management he should implement for this setup. Plus, he can always reach out to his mentor Bielsa for advice. 

This is going to be an exciting adventure for all parities involved, and people simply can’t wait for next week to come around. 

Pochettino’s first two games will be against Panama at home, a team that recently beat the USMNT in the Copa América, and Mexico away, the USMNT’s biggest rival who will create an intimidating atmosphere in Jalisco.

Let’s see how he does.