Why Mauricio Pochettino Is the Right Man to Lead the USMNT to World Cup Glory
The U.S. men’s national team is already making history this summer, in large part due to its commander-in-chief Mauricio Pochettino.
The Stars and Stripes opened 2026 World Cup play with a bold statement, demolishing Paraguay 4–1 amid the fireworks and celebrity performances at SoFi Stadium. They followed that dramatic opening act with a 2–0 win against Australia on Friday. It marked the first time since 1930 that the USMNT earned two wins in the group stage and the first time ever in the modern era of the World Cup. In that inaugural, 13-team competition, the Americans won consecutive matches against Belgium and Paraguay to advance right to the semifinals, where they were promptly thumped by Argentina 6–1.
The only other time the U.S. won twice at the World Cup, across all stages, was back in 2002, upsetting Portugal 3–2 in the group stage opener before squeezing through to the knockout stage with a subsequent draw and loss. The U.S. defeated Mexico 2–0 in the round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals, the furthest stage the team has advanced to in the modern era of the tournament.
Pochettino, therefore, in just his first two World Cup outings is already tied for the most World Cup wins of any USMNT coach, alongside Bruce Arena (2002) and Robert Millar (1930), with more history ripe for his making.
The manager out of Murphy, Argentina joined the USMNT in Sept. 2024, accepting his first international management position in preparation for the 2026 World Cup on U.S. soil. Here are three key reasons why Pochettino is the right man to take the Stars and Stripes to World Cup glory this summer.
Compete against the world. / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Pochettino’s Resumé
Pochettino led Tottenham Hotspur to the Champions League final in 2019, but ultimately fell to Liverpool. / Matthias Hangst/Getty Images
Pochettino is one of the most highly-regarded coaches in global soccer, with a resumé that includes stints at the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspur (2014–19) and Chelsea (2023–24), and Ligue 1’s Paris Saint-Germain (2021–22).
He has coached some of the greatest players in the game, including Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappé and Neymar, all of whom played for PSG during Pochettino’s tenure.
It was considered a massive coup when the USMNT landed him to lead its World Cup ambitions, part of an emerging trend of major national teams seeking out elite, foreign managers as opposed to employing homegrown managers that have a history in the federation. Brazil has five-time Champions League winning-Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti (AC Milan, Real Madrid) at its helm, and England has the German Thomas Tuchel, who won the Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup with Chelsea in 2020–21 and recently won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in 2022–23.
Pochettino’s Thoroughness, Tactical Ingenuity
Mauricio Pochettino has gone with the team he thinks will get the job done. / Alex Livesey/FIFA/Getty Images
Since taking over the position, Pochettino has been highly experimental in both his formational lineups and the players he’s called into camps, eager to leave no stone unturned when searching for his perfect World Cup roster.
He trialed over 80 players in a myriad of formations that included variations of a three-back and a four-back in the lead up to the tournament, before settling on his strongest 26 players late last month.
All of the changes led to scrutiny in the moment, as the U.S. was exceptionally disappointing in competitive matches, finishing fourth in the 2024–25 Concacaf Nations League and failing to win the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Given the sheer rotation of new players, the team also struggled to form a real identity.
Nevertheless, the long-term payout has been substantial, seeing the squad compete with military-like precision and perform with a level of talent never before witnessed from the U.S. side on soccer’s grandest stage. The Stars and Stripes quickly formed a strong identity too, one of front-footed aggression and passion yet grounded in systematic unity. This heartbeat became apparent as early as the USMNT’s pre-World Cup friendlies earlier this month against Senegal and Germany, two outstanding performances against elite nations.
“As you saw against Germany, the aggression, the fight, Pochettino brings that South American spirit that we’ve been missing,” USMNT veteran winger Timothy Weah said after the 2–1 friendly loss to Germany. “We’ve always been the good guys, so it’s nice being on the other end and being the aggressor a bit. Coach Poch is an amazing coach, and I can’t wait to see what we do under him.”
The USMNT has brought nothing but electricity to the World Cup so far. / Alex Livesey/FIFA/Getty Images
Pochettino really proved his managerial worth against Australia, given how the Socceroos tried to test the U.S. tactically. Not only did the Aussies allow the Americans to dominate possession and set the tempo of the game, they actually encouraged it, choosing to hunker down on defense with five defenders across the back and four in midfield. They kept the U.S. occupied in the center of the pitch, and it was precisely in the monotony of the U.S.’s lateral passes that Australia intended to strike.
The Argentine successfully navigated that unique tactic by switching the U.S. to a three-back formation, trusting his trio of center backs to cover for each other on any quick counterattacks while still enabling the rest of the team, especially the wingbacks, to go full-speed ahead on the attack. He also used two strikers, instead of the usual one, to overcrowd Australia’s backline and ensure that the U.S. was set up properly to capitalize on the few opportunities it was actually given to score. It proved tremendously successful, as the U.S. walked away with two goals off of just two shots on target.
“He’s always given us different ideas to attack,” star striker Folarin Balogun said about Pochettino after the game. “To play with [striker Ricardo Pepi] today wasn’t a shock...It felt like another solution to win the game. Australia played with a back-five, so two strikers occupying the center backs is also a good idea. That’s credit to the boss, and you can see today that it worked.”
Pochettino’s Relentless Belief, American Attitude
Mauricio Pochettino has adopted an American attitude. / Jamie Squire/Getty Images
Perhaps a laughingstock to the rest of the soccer world, Pochettino has maintained lofty goals for the U.S.’s World Cup run, stating back in February that even a quarterfinal finish wouldn’t be something he considers a success.
“We want to win [the World Cup], we are winners” Pochettino said back then. “It’s complicated for every team to win the World Cup, it won’t be easy. It’s also a different experience with different circumstances. We’ll see, surprises can always happen.
“It’s true that nobody in the world puts the USMNT among the favorites to win the World Cup, I’m conscious of that. But internally, when we took on the challenge of going to the World Cup, we considered: ‘Why not? Why not win it? Why not make it to the final stages of the World Cup?’”
The manager has prided himself on his inability to see logic when it comes to the potential of his team, given soccer’s most notable underdog stories necessarily upend logic, including when co-host South Korea made a surprise run to the semifinals in 2002 or when Morocco reached that stage in Qatar just four years ago.
“In soccer, logic plays a limited role,” he said. “There are no mathematical equations to predict the outcome. That’s also why it’s the most beautiful sport in the world, because it’s sometimes unfair. It’s about being competitive, but also about managing emotions.”
“It’s a good mix of logic and illogic, rationality and irrationality. Assuming we have a quality squad with a good mentality and the support of the fans, everything is in place to generate positive energy and attempt what South Korea and Morocco achieved in 2002 and 2022.”
He has continually reiterated the “Why not us?” mentality, tying his inspiration to the uniquely American “Miracle on Ice” story. The 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team made an unprecedented run to the Olympic gold medal, a famous piece of history that Pochettino has fallen in love with. It is the American __ underdog story, defining just one of many American sentiments that the foreign coach has come to depend upon to inspire his men.
“We’re American, we don’t take s---. That’s something he really drilled into us,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said before Friday’s game about Pochettino’s motivational tactics. “Even though he’s Argentinian, he has that mindset. This is what we do, this is who we are, and this is what America is about.”
Backdropped with the USMNT’s impeccable start to the summer, Pochettino’s ambitions don’t seem as lofty anymore.
