United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said that in order for players to compete in football to be successful in the 2026 season, they must see football as more than just a game. FIFA World Cup.
As an example, he gave the mental approach taken by a team he knows well: Argentinawho Pochettino played for throughout his career.
“When we see different national teams, today we talked about Argentina because it is [world] champion and they have very good players,” Pochettino told ESPN. “But for me the biggest difference is the mentality, the way they compete as a group and the belief that they have it, and when they go on the field they go to war and defend your badge, your flag and that’s what we have to create.
“We have to explain to our players that this is not just a football game, but we have to take a step forward to compete better.”
Since taking over as manager of the US national team on September 10, Pochettino has won three matches and lost one against their rivals Mexico in social. Although Pochettino has already achieved his first successes with the team, he is still striving for even greater successes on the road to the World Cup.
“[Right now] the mentality is really good, I think we have a very good mentality, a very good culture,” he said. “Sometimes there comes a point where there are ups and downs. The most important thing is to be consistent, maintain your capabilities and your skills. mentality.”
The United States faces a unique path to the 2026 tournament as co-hosts, earning an automatic ticket and avoiding Concacaf qualification. Limited competition is a double-edged sword, but one positive is that it allows Pochettino to test different players for Gold CupNations League and upcoming friendlies.
“For me, the most important factor [in calling up a player] that’s how they deal with their club. It’s true that we have different situations where maybe they don’t play much for their club,” Pochettino said. “But we are considering it before appointing them because they are important for the group. They perform here, although they don’t play much.
“We always analyze things differently, in different ways for different players. We don’t use the same rules standards to evaluate players in the same way.”
The USMNT is scheduled to kick off 2025 with a match against Venezuela at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on January 18 and then Costa Rica four days later at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando with some new faces in the lineup, e.g Brian Gutierrez AND Patrick Agyemang.
