CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Mauricio Pochettino gathered players around him during a hydration break in the 24th minute of Sunday’s friendly against Senegal to give some tactical instructions.
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Not with his voice or a clipboard, but with a laptop.
Television cameras showed the U.S. coach pointing to the screen with a finger as he talked, apparently showing desired movements on the field. Huddled players watched intently.
“Players need to think, but they also need to see,” Pochettino said said after the Americans’ 3-2 win .
Pochettino said the U.S. has not been told by FIFA whether laptop use during breaks will be allowed during the World Cup. FIFA said it will “look into this and come back if there’s anything we can share.”
Midfielder Weston McKennie said any time he can see and learn from field movement is helpful.
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Christian Pulisic said it was similar to what the team does following the first half.
“It’s a little unique for us,” Pulisic said. “But that’s also what we do at halftime — we just go over some things.”
Pulisic said overall he is in favor of more breaks in soccer, which until the adoption of the hydration breaks featured 45 straight minutes plus stoppage time of non-stop action in each half.
“I think it’s a good thing,” Pulisic said. “Like timeouts would be a good thing in soccer. I feel like it’s nice to get a little regroup.”
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AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/hub/fifa-world-cup
