USA beats Venezuela 3-1 in Fort Lauderdale, team is 4-1 under new coach Pochettino

The 2026 World Cup is 17 months away and South Florida soccer fans got an up-close preview Saturday afternoon of some of the players who could wind up on the sport’s biggest stage as Team USA beat Venezuela 3-1 in a friendly at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Three players who made an impression were midfielder Jack McGlynn and forward Patrick Agyemang, who scored goals within a 90-second span in the first half and Miami-born forward Matko Miljevic, who scored after a breakaway in the second half after having a penalty kick saved early in the match.

It was the first senior team goal for all three. Agyemang, the imposing 6-4 forward, and Argentine American Miljevic were making their international debut.

McGlynn, 21, plays for the Philadelphia Union and Agyemang, 24, for Charlotte FC. All but one of the players on the roster were from MLS, as the game fell outside a FIFA window, so new coach Mauricio Pochettino used the opportunity to evaluate domestic-based players. The team improved to 4-1 under his leadership.

“I am so happy and want to congratulate all the players,” Pochettino said. “It’s difficult to create a good dynamic when players have not played together, but the players’ attitude was amazing and they were able to employ some of our strategies. We not only saw good players and good performance, we played like a team.”

He also thanked Inter Miami owners David Beckham, Jorge and Jose Mas for opening their facility doors to the U.S. men’s and women’s national teams, both of which are holding January camps there.

Venezuela’s roster was also domestic based, so the evenly divided crowd of 18,008 got a glimpse of players who are often overshadowed.

Miljevic was the lone U.S. player who does not currently play in MLS. The 23-year-old former Montreal FC forward is without a club after being kicked out of MLS for violating terms of his contract after playing for an amateur team under a fake name and getting into a fight. Last season he played for Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina, which is Pochettino’s boyhood club, but was released.

“He was good, what we expect from him,” Pochettino said of Miljevic. “I am happy with his performance. The goal he scored was very good.”

Pochettino assured players in camp that he does not care whether they play in MLS or abroad and told reporters on Friday that he saw several players over the week whose standard of play was equal to the more highly touted players overseas.

Agyemang said before the game that Pochettino made the newcomers feel comfortable and injected them with confidence.

“This is my first camp, so even if you try to prepare as much as possible, you really can’t be ready until you’re here,” Agyemang said. “I was a little nervous, meeting the new staff and new players. But, I feel I adapted well and I’ve been really enjoying it. It’s a great honor. You’re carrying the crest and you have to show what you can do on the field because you’re representing the country at the end of the day.”

The starting U.S. lineup had a few local ties.

Inter Miami midfielder Benja Cremaschi, the 19-year-old Key Biscayne native, was in the Starting XI, as was Fort Lauderdale native Shaq Moore, a right back for FC Dallas. Cremaschi got his start with youth club Weston FC and Moore with the Lauderhill Lions, which has held a “Shaq Moore Day” to celebrate his accomplishments.

Cremaschi was shown a yellow card in the 18th minute and played 66 minutes before being replaced by Emeka Eneli. He has impressed other U.S. players in camp.

“Benja is very, very mature for his age,” Moore said. “Obviously, he plays with the greatest of all time [Messi], so you can see that has rubbed off on him, as well. Very mature, very intense as well. Expecting big things from him.”

Pochettino said of Cremaschi: “I was happy with his performance. He has enormous potential being so young.”

He also praised Moore: “I am very pleased with Shaq, he can adapt to many positions, wing back, center back and that is a benefit for us. Also, after playing seven years in Spain, he speaks very good Spanish.”

The rest of the U.S. starters were: Patrick Schulte, Agyemang, Miljevic, Miles Robinson (captain), Max Arfsten, McGlynn, Brian Gutierrez, George Campbell, and Caden Clark. DeJuan Jones, Diego Luna, Eneli, Brian White, Walker Zimmerman and Indiana Vassilev came in off the bench.

Six USA starters made their international debuts on Saturday: Agyemang, Max Arfsten, George Campbell, Caden Clark, Brian Gutiérrez and Miljevic.

The Starting XI had an average age of 23 years, 227 days and was the youngest lineup so far under Pochettino.

Venezuela’s starting lineup included Wuilker Farinez, Carlos Vivas, Anthony Graterol, Bryant Ortega, Jan Hurtado, Juan Pablo Anor, Jovanny Bolivar, Francisco La Mantia, Daniel Pereira, Roberto Rosales (captain), and Gleiker Mendoza.

Farinez, who started for Venezuela in the 2019 Copa America and played for Lens in France, made his return to the national squad after a long absence. He was tested almost immediately and saved a Miljevic penalty kick two minutes into the game.

“I am very happy about Wielker because we know the quality he has, and he returned to the Vinotinto and responded very well,” said Venezuela coach Fernando Batista. “I know how hard he has worked to get back to the national squad.”

Jorge Yriarte scored for Venezuela in the 68^th minute.

“Of course, you always want to win, but our objective was to get a good look at our domestic players and we were able to do that,” Batista said. “I was pleased with what we saw.”

The U.S. team will continue to train in Fort Lauderdale and then heads to Orlando for a Wednesday friendly against Costa Rica.