Pochettino’s First Full Usmnt Year Started Shakily. It Ends With Real World Cup Hope

The symbolism felt a tad heavy-handed, arsenic if a scriptwriter had somewhat overcooked nan plot.

That nan United States men’s nationalist squad should utterly humiliate Uruguay 5-1 ,the very force who dumped nan Americans retired of nan 2024 Copa América successful nan group shape connected their location soil, precipitating an all-out crisis. That nan first of nan USMNT’s goals connected Tuesday, and nan assistance for nan second, should travel from Sebastian Berhalter, whose father, Gregg, was fired arsenic US caput coach aft said Copa. That Berhalter’s successor, Mauricio Pochettino, should reclaim nan program’s grant against his mentor, his “second father”, his “football father”, his “inspiration”, Marcelo Bielsa.

This communicative of retribution and rehabilitation would person been sent backmost for a rewrite. Too obvious. Too hackneyed. Too tidy.

All nan same, nan USMNT vanished retired 2025 by matching their biggest triumph ever complete a South American squad – and that 1 came backmost successful 2016 against Bolivia, an inferior squad to two-time world champions Uruguay.

“That triumph doesn’t mean thing for me, personally, because we request to build our travel until nan World Cup,” Pochettino said successful an oddly testy postgame property conference connected Tuesday, wherever he sewage irritated astatine being asked astir missing regulars because he feels for illustration location is nary specified thing. “But what I really, really admit from nan team, nan roster, and each nan unit is nan measurement we commencement to link together. That is nan astir important thing. If we want to get to nan World Cup and person nan chance to situation nan large teams, that is nan measurement we request to play.”

More pleasing to Pochettino than nan people was that he had rotated astir each of his squad – who were already missing a fistful of … stars, let’s telephone them, alternatively than regulars – aft Saturday’s 2-1 triumph complete Paraguay, and that nan corporate had looked mostly unaltered. “Nine changes, but [we kept] nan ideas, nan philosophy, nan faith, nan fight, nan togetherness,” he said. “All nan chair players were supporting nan starting 11. That relationship is amazing, it’s what we wanted.”

The Argentinian’s fixation connected this continuity vindicated nan attraction of his activity complete nan almanac year, erstwhile he refreshed nan subordinate excavation pinch 71 callups and rejuvenated nan team’s culture.

By posting a bid of assurance and momentum-building results, punctuated by a head-turning one, nan co-hosts will participate a World Cup twelvemonth successful a overmuch amended spot than they mightiness person imagined astatine nan adjacent of 2024.

Ever since a beardown second-half successful what was nevertheless a 2-0 loss to South Korea successful September, nan Americans person posted wins complete 3 World Cup-bound teams – Japan, Australia and Paraguay – and played to a gamely necktie pinch Ecuador, nan second-best broadside successful South American qualifiers. And now, arsenic if to formally denote their intentions, they person recorded a beatdown of 1 of nan world game’s astir stories teams.

After Pochettino’s assignment successful September 2024, an full four-year rhythm had to beryllium crammed into conscionable complete a year. In this supercharged timespan, Pochettino made an encouraging commencement pinch an avenging 2-0 triumph complete Panama successful October 2024, aft Los Canaleros – along pinch Uruguay – doomed nan USA’s Copa América campaign; quickly collapsed backmost to world successful a nonaccomplishment to Mexico; regained momentum successful a brace of Nations League quarter-final wins complete Jamaica past November; and past utterly disintegrated successful losses to Panama and Canada successful nan Nations League Finals successful March. This prompted yet different reset.

Pochettino saw it arsenic a turning point. “All that negativity was a affirmative thing,” he said connected Monday. “All this negativity we utilized to build this journey. That was, I think, erstwhile nan reality touched.”

Yet dispiriting friends losses to Turkey and Switzerland successful early June made things look desperately bleak for nan World Cup. But successful response, a roster shorn of astir anyone nan casual instrumentality mightiness person heard of – again, not “regulars” – made a gutsy tally to nan Gold Cup final, wherever nan US were yet overmatched by Mexico.

“I felt for illustration we had a group of guys [at nan Gold Cup] that really connected connected a deeper level,” Berhalter told TNT connected Tuesday. “That’s thing that we really needed to build that camaraderie, that chemistry, and benignant of building that into nan adjacent mates of camps. Guys person each other’s backs.”

Around this time, nan USMNT finally and afloat became Pochettino’s team.

“That’s nan main point that we’ve been focused connected – building that DNA and that grit, that hardworking mentality because that’s us,” said Diego Luna, 1 of nan US’s scorers connected Tuesday, and a Major League Soccer subordinate elevated by Pochettino this year, who charmed nan coach pinch his moxie. “That’s america arsenic a state and that’s america arsenic a team. Once you lucifer that strength and person that DNA, things for illustration this [5-1 win] tin happen.”

“Mauricio has expressed a batch of assurance for america to spell retired location and lick problems arsenic we spot fit,” echoed defender Mark McKenzie connected Monday. “It’s not astir Xs and Os; it’s not astir nan worldly we ever spot successful videos. […] It’s conscionable nan aggressiveness, nan mentality to triumph nan shot backmost arsenic soon arsenic imaginable and conscionable to beryllium beardown successful some phases.”

This, successful nan end, has been Pochettino’s broader task for 2025: to build a instauration that will past nan tremors of a World Cup. The results person simply been nan residue of that work, moreover arsenic nan numbers connected nan scoreboard ascended steadily from concerning to spectacular.

“After [more than] 1 year, we commencement to spot nan personality that we want to construe to our players, I deliberation that is an important improvement,” Pochettino told TNT earlier Tuesday’s game. “[2025] was really difficult. All projects, erstwhile they start, it’s astir analyzing and seeing what’s going on. But I’m happy. I’ve seen motivation, focus.”

After nan last whistle rang done Tampa’s Raymond James Stadium, Pochettino did his champion to wrap a reluctant Bielsa successful a hug. The elder coach, who had erstwhile discovered a teenaged defender successful agrarian Argentina successful nan dormant of nighttime immoderate 40 years ago, was successful nary mood.

Something astir apprentices and masters mightiness person followed successful this space, were it not truthful trite.

• Leander Schaerlaeckens’ book connected nan United States men’s nationalist shot team, The Long Game, is retired successful nan outpouring of 2026. You tin preorder it here. He teaches astatine Marist University.