New coach Mauricio Pochettino will guide the United States against Costa Rica in a January 22 friendly in Orlando, US Soccer announced on Tuesday.
The friendly will be one of two in Florida, alongside a January 18 meeting with Venezuela at Fort Lauderdale, as part of the Americans' annual January training camp.
The matches fall outside a FIFA window for international play, so Pochettino will be evaluating MLS players and younger talent for the US line-up ahead of the 2025 CONCACAF Nations League Finals and Gold Cup as well as the 2026 World Cup co-hosted by Canada, Mexico and the United States.
"For a long time, the January camp has been an important part of the development of the national team. It is a unique opportunity to work with our MLS players closely and then finish with a good challenge against Costa Rica," Pochettino said.
The 52-year-old Argentinian took over as US coach in September, replacing Gregg Berhalter, and won his first match 2-0 against Panama in October.
The Americans, who have won all six of their games at the home of MLS's Orlando City, won their last encounter with Costa Rica 2-1 in a 2021 World Cup qualifying match at Columbus, Ohio.
js/nf
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.