The U.S. men’s national team’s final match of 2025 comes against Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay on Tuesday night and for USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino, the match will be a sentimental one. Pochettino played under Bielsa during his professional playing career, starting out at Argentinian side Newell’s Old Boys before later working with him again at Spanish side Espanyol and the Argentinian national team. The 70-year-old Bielsa is now in the 15th managerial position of his career, leading Uruguay to a 15-12-6 in his two-and-a-half years in charge. Pochettino, 17 years younger than his managerial counterpart, is 14 months into his spell as USMNT head coach. He’s led the USMNT to 12 victories in his 21 matches in charge and most recently watched as his squad defeated CONMEBOL squad Paraguay 2-1 on Saturday night in Chester, Pennsylvania.Pochettino voiced his admiration for Bielsa during Monday’s prematch press conference in Florida while also admitting that facing Uruguay will be a tough challenge at Raymond James Stadium.“Always, my admiration and my respect is massive,” said Pochettino. “I cannot consider him like a friend. I cannot considerate him like another normal person. It’s bigger respect. I speak with him like a man that you admire, is your hero. He’s this type of person that you wait [to] talk. You always wait for him to say hello and then you say hello.“Yes, [Tuesday] for me is a thing to enjoy, to be with him very close,” Pochettino added. “And in the same time, we are going to suffer because all the team under Marcelo’s management are so tough to play.”The USMNT grinded out a good win against Paraguay two nights ago, using goals from Gio Reyna and Folarin Balogun to claim the home victory. Outside of a defensive lapse during Paraguay’s equalizing goal, the USMNT looked fairly comfortable against La Albirroja, out-possession, out-shooting, and out-dueling them for 90+ minutes. After extending their unbeaten run to four matches against another Top-50 nation, the USMNT are starting to look more composed under Pochettino in comparison to earlier this year. “I see the identity is the way that we build from back, and the way that we respect the principles on the game,” Pochettino said. “The tactical work in the way that we play, in the capacity to rotate and how we use the space, how we build from back, how we play in the medium block or when we are in the transition to going to dominate the game in the opposite half.”One thing that Pochettino is not hoping for is a major scrap similar to the one that the USMNT had with Paraguay in the dying stages of Saturday’s match. USMNT fullback Alex Freeman and Paraguayan centerback Gustavo Gomez got into a jostling match before the both benches emptied in a lengthy scuffle on the sidelines. Both sets of players were lucky to not suffer injuries in the fracas, while Pochettino admitted postmatch on Saturday that he was quickly helped off the ground by a member of the Paraguayan coaching staff.Pochettino wants his players to avoid needless altercations in lieu of safety concerns, but also voiced proudness in them wanting to stand up for one another. “I think we all feel now very proud about in the way that we act and behave, and of course Alex was good because he was defending and caring about the ball, about the action that was for us because the referee say the ball was for the USA ,and that shows character and that we care,” Pochettino said. “I really was happy when that happened because I think when the aggression is coming from the other side, I think we need to defend ourself, and that was a good moment to say we feel proud in the way that we feel, and the way that we are.“Of course can be [dangerous] the type of situation, but I hope that [doesn’t] happen again,” he added. “But if people [mess] with us, okay, we are going to defend ourselves. That is the most important thing.”The USMNT will be seeking their 11th victory of the year and a first win since 2002 over La Celeste.