Pulisic leads USMNT to 6-goal rout of Haiti ahead of Pochettino's farewell

Mauricio Pochettino is set to leave the United States men's national team on a high note after leading the U.S. to a 6-0 rout of Haiti in the first leg of its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal in Miami on Saturday. The result means Tuesday's return leg in Cincinnati on Tuesday, when Pochettino takes charge for the final time, will now be merely a formality for the U.S. in reaching the semifinals. The buildup to the series with Haiti had been overshadowed by news that Pochettino was leaving just three months into a new four-year contract to take over as coach of English Premier League giants Manchester United. But the U.S. players showed little signs of distraction as they romped to the biggest win of Pochettino's two years in charge. "We played for him," Auston Trusty, who opened the scoring for the U.S., told TNT when asked about Pochettino's exit. "Obviously he's our gaffer. Obviously it's sad that he's moving on. Obviously it's a great opportunity that he is moving on into, but we play for him. It's his team, it's his identity. "And the mindset is to win every single game, every single match. And no matter how many goals you're up, you keep fighting, you keep putting on the score and just do your thing, play our game." Christian Pulisic, playing his first game for the U.S. since suffering an injury in a round-of-16 exit at the World Cup, scored twice in two second-half minutes to move above Eric Wynalda and into fourth place on the list of the team's all-time leading scorers. Trusty's goal from a corner kick had opened the scoring for Pochettino's side in the 10th minute before five goals followed in a one-sided second half. It was Trusty's first appearance since the death of his father last month. Teenager Julian Hall scored his fourth goal in just five appearances in a game that officially cap-tied the striker to the U.S., having previously also been eligible to represent Poland. Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun rounded out the scoring. Haiti was technically the home team for Saturday's game, after the fixture was relocated due to ongoing gang violence in Haiti. The Nations League semifinals and final will take place next March, when the U.S. will have a yet-to-be-named new coach in charge.