Mauricio Pochettino was presented as the new United States coach this Friday. The Argentine coach assured that he will work to make the players believe that they can win the 2026 World Cup.
Pochettino was accompanied by the president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), Cindy Parlow Cone, and athletic director Matt Crocker. The former Chelsea coach is the first Latino to take the reins of Team USA, with less than two years left until the 2026 World Cup.
“They say there is no time to prepare, what I say is that I think we have enough time, I don’t want to make excuses. Football is like that, you have to touch the right button. The players are intelligent, they can play differently. We have to believe, we have to believe that we can win, that we can win the World Cup, because if not it will be complicated,” he said.
“We want the players to arrive at the concentration thinking big. They must put their talent at the service of the team. That will be the enormous challenge,” he added.
Mauricio Pochettino believes in the potential of the USA
The United States was eliminated in the group stage in the last Copa América, which it hosted under the management of Gregg Berhalter. The coach was fired after that tournament.
“There is great potential and the challenge of taking the men’s team to a different level, that perhaps have come closer at the time, is an enormous challenge. This is a challenge that takes us out of our ‘comfort’ zone. “Here is entering what you don’t know, taking yourself out of your ‘comfort’ zone to be able to challenge yourself,” said Pochettino.
“It is a challenge with ourselves to refresh ourselves again in a soccer that was always attractive to us, but that now gives us the possibility of playing it from here,” he added.
The Argentine coach, formerly of Tottenham, Paris Saint Germain and Chelsea, among others, highlighted that his priority is to know your players, follow them during the season in their clubs, and talk to find an idea of football that allows them to realize their maximum potential.
“We are going to try to be attentive and leave the doors open for them to show that they can represent. They have to understand that if they perform, we will be there watching,” she explained.
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