Maybe the doldrums of January camp got to Mauricio Pochettino. Or maybe he’s out to lend a hand to a helpful cause. Just a few weeks removed from coaching a group of relative unknowns, the U.S. men’s national team’s head coach traded that collection of players for some all-time luminaries: Andres Iniesta, David Silva and his captains … social media influencers Chunkz and iShowSpeed.
Coaching against the likes of Thierry Henry, Andrea Pirlo and Alessandro Del Piero, Pochettino led a team of legends and influencers in the “Match for Hope,” a charity match that took place in at the 974 Stadium in Doha, Qatar on Friday. Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger led Pochettino’s opponents, who were led by influencers KSI and AboFlah.
The match played out about how you’d expect: some moments of truly dreadful soccer by the influencers dotted with touches of brilliance and humor from the legends. Henry in particular looked to be enjoying himself, at one point juggling the ball in the penalty area and deliberately directing it into the arm of Tobi Brown — aka TBJZL, co-founder of the “Sidemen” — for a penalty kick.
Pochettino’s side found itself down three goals at halftime, clawed its way back into things to pull even at 5-5 but ultimately lost the exhibition, 6-5. The tactics Speed tried to impose on Pochettino prior to the match evidently didn’t quite come off as hoped.
🚨| WATCH: Speed just met his manager Pochettino and tried to TELL HIM what formation to play the team in 🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/2Zk17QZmHr
— Speedy HQ (@IShowSpeedHQ) February 14, 2025
Last year’s inaugural Match for Hope raised $8.8 million for Qatar’s “Education Above All” foundation, which is said to have initiatives in Lebanon, Nigeria, Palestine, Syria and Pakistan.
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With his duties coaching YouTube’s best and brightest in the rear view, Pochettino is free to return to the States to work on something a tad more important: helping the USMNT lift a first trophy under his direction.
The U.S. faces Panama in a Concacaf Nations League semifinal on March 20 at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles. Should the Americans advance, they’ll face either Mexico or Canada three days later in the final. They’re looking to remain the region’s only Nations League winner after capturing the first three editions of the competition.
(Top photo: Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
