Throwback Thursday: With Mauricio Pochettino set for his first match, remember when Bora Milutinovic, Jurgen Klinsmann and others made their USMNT debuts?

Ahead of what would ultimately be the USMNT's first World Cup appearance in 40 years, the federation handed the reigns to Bob Gansler, who was previously the U20 coach.

His first match in charge was a World Cup qualifier at Costa Rica, which, even back then, was a tough place to play. The USMNT fell 1-0, but had a chance for revenge just a few weeks later on home soil. Up 1-0 late, goalkeeper David Vanole made a crucial penalty kick save on Mauricio Montero, kickstarting the path toward the World Cup.

We all know what happened next. The famous Shot Around the World goal from Paul Caligiuri that November sent the U.S. to the World Cup for the first time since 1950, with Gansler's young squad ultimately getting thumped by Italy. Czechoslovakia and Austria on their way out in the group stage.

After struggling mightily in 1990, U.S. Soccer needed a new voice, one that would create a team whose sum was greater than its parts. Enter Bora Milutinovic, who already had plenty of international experience as a coach with Mexico and Costa Rica.

His first game in charge came in 1991, when he led the USMNT to a 1-0 victory over Uruguay in Denver. The goal came from a familiar face - current Sporting KC boss Peter Vermes - who took advantage of a botched offside trap from Uruguay to score the winner.

That was a big statement ahead of the Gold Cup that summer - the U.S. triumphed and claimed the inaugural trophy at the LA Memorial Coliseum.

It was a sign of things to come. Under the experienced head coach, the USMNT ended up advancing to the knockout rounds as hosts of the 1994 World Cup, making it out of the group for the first time since 1930.

Previously an assistant under Milutinovic, Steve Sampson took the reigns in 1994, initially as an interim coach. His first two matches ended in defeat, starting with a 1-0 loss to Belgium and a 2-1 loss to Costa Rica in friendlies.

The U.S. turned it around form there, defeating Nigeria and Mexico in the run up to that summer's Copa America. The USMNT ultimately made it all the way to the third-place game, where they fell to Colombia after taking down Mexico and Argentina along the way.

Sampson led the team into the 1998 World Cup, where they were eliminated in the group stage once again after earning zero points against Germany, Yugoslavia and Iran.

The only man to ever coach the team at two World Cups, Arena is the USMNT's most successful head coach. His time in charge, though, began with a fairly quiet start.

Arena's first game came in November 1998 as the U.S. hosted Australia in a friendly in San Jose. It finished scoreless, with defender Carlos Llamosa being sent off int he final minutes of the match. The next game, a friendly against Bolivia, also finished 0-0, but the U.S. then got on track with a 3-0 triumph over Germany for Arena's first win.

Arena built the USMNT up in the years that followed, leading the team all the way to the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup, which remains the best U.S. performance. He also claimed three Gold Cup titles, but left his post after a disappointing group stage exit at the 2008 World Cup.

He returned briefly in 2017, but was unable to steady the ship as the U.S. failed to qualify for the 2018 tournament.

Another interim coach that eventually earned the job for good, Bob Bradley's USMNT tenure began with a 3-1 win over Denmark in Los Angeles, thanks to goals from Landon Donovan, Jonathan Bornstein and Kenny Cooper. The U.S. went on to win three of Bradley's first four games in charge.

The summer of 2007 was a mixed bag for the USMNT, who won the Gold Cup but were knocked out with losses in all three games at the Copa America.

Bradley's biggest triumph, though, came in 2009, when he led the U.S. to a win over Spain that ended La Roja's legendary 35-game unbeaten streak right at the peak of their powers. Spain would go on to win the 2010 World Cup, while Bradley's USMNT made it out of the group stage thanks to Donovan's famous Algeria goal, before falling to Ghana in the Round of 16.

Bradley initially signed a contract extension after the 2010 World Cup. But, after losing to Mexico in the 2011 Gold Cup final, Bradley was dismissed, and U.S. Soccer handed the reigns to Jurgen Klinsmann.

Brought in to change the culture around U.S. Soccer, Jurgen Klinsmann debuted with a 1-1 draw with Mexico, with Robbie Rogers cancelling out a goal from Oribe Peralta. After that, though, the U.S. lost four of their next five friendlies, suffering 1-0 defeats to Costa Rica, Belgium, Ecuador and France.

The U.S. ended the year on a high, topping Slovenia 3-2 thanks to finishes from Edson Buddle, Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore.

Klinsmann ultimately led the USMNT to the knockout round of the 2014 World Cup, where they fell to Belgium in the Round of 16. The U.S. also went to the third-place game of the Copa America Centenario, but Klinsmann's tenure ended in disaster as he was fired after an ugly start to the infamous 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

It took some time to actually get Berhalter in the role following the USMNT's World Cup qualifying crash out, with his tenure beginning in 2019 and a 3-0 January camp win over Panama in the debut. The goals came from Djordje Mihailovic, Christian Ramirez and Walker Zimmerman, as Berhalter leaned on an MLS-heavy roster, as is tradition with the January gathering.

The U.S. followed that up with a 2-0 win over Costa Rica in that camp. In March, the U.S. defeated Ecuador 1-0 before drawing Chile to extend Berhalter's unbeaten start to four. The U.S., though, would end up losing the next three as Berhalter continued to integrate a young team of rising stars.

That squad accomplished its mission under Berhalter: return to the 2022 World Cup, Once there, they made it to the Round of 16 before falling to the Netherlands. The coach was then re-hired in 2023 with the aim of making it through the 2026 World Cup.

It didn't happen that way, of course. Berhalter's tenure came to a disappointing close this summer with an unexpected Copa America group stage exit on home soil, leading the way to Pochettino's arrival and a new era for the USMNT.