Mauricio Pochettino will still lead the USMNT against Haiti on Saturday in Miami, even after being officially appointed Manchester United's new manager on Friday. The quarterfinal tie has taken on an unusual shape: one coach, two jobs on paper, and a match moved far from the country that was meant to host it.
The United States enters the away leg as the favorite in the two-match series after winning all four of its matches during the extended September-October break, including shutout wins over Mexico and Canada. For readers searching Haiti Vs USA now, that is the immediate reason the fixture has drawn attention: the game is not being played in Haiti, but in Miami, because Haiti has not been able to stage home matches for years amid a worsening security crisis.
Haiti, FIFA's 84th-ranked side, reached this stage by winning three successive Nations League matches at the start of the competition, then added a place in this summer's World Cup after qualifying for the tournament for the first time since 1974. But the move in form has not carried over in the latest cycle. Haiti failed to pick up a point in World Cup Group C and lost 2-0 to Costa Rica last time out, which makes this tie a steep test even before the venue shift is considered.
That shift matters because a home leg usually changes the rhythm of a knockout series, especially for a team that cannot rely on its own ground. Instead, Haiti must meet the USMNT in Miami, with the familiar advantage of home soil removed by conditions outside football. The result is a quarterfinal that looks one-sided on paper but is also shaped by forces well beyond the field.
What remains unresolved is how long Pochettino will continue with the USMNT after this tie. For now, though, he is still the coach in the dugout, the match is still on Saturday, and the winner on aggregate moves on to next year's finals.
