Pochettino demands that the United States enter the 2026 World Cup with the highest objective: “We have to believe that we can win the tournament”
Mauricio Pochettino is entering the final stage of preparations for the 2026 World Cup with a message that is considerably more ambitious than the usual caution of a national team coach. The head coach of the United States men’s national soccer team says his side must not think only about getting out of the group, making a good impression or achieving one major victory, but about becoming world champion. According to quotes published by U.S. Soccer after his introductory press conference, Pochettino stressed even when taking over the job that the players must “believe that they can win every game” and that they can win the World Cup. Such a statement does not change the objective assessment of the strength of the biggest favorites, but it clearly shows what kind of mentality the Argentine coach wants to build in a national team that will play in front of its home crowd.
The United States will open the tournament on June 12, 2026, against Paraguay in Los Angeles, two days after the date on which this text was prepared and one day after the official start of the World Cup in Mexico. According to FIFA’s schedule, the U.S. national team has been placed in Group D with Paraguay, Australia and Turkey, and all three matches will be played on American soil. That is a sporting and logistical advantage that Pochettino is not hiding, but at the same time it is also a source of great pressure because the host is expected to do more than merely participate. That is precisely why his public emphasis on belief, unity and readiness for the highest objective should be read as an attempt to turn expectations into fuel, rather than a burden.
An ambition that has become part of the national team’s message
Since arriving on the U.S. bench, Pochettino has consistently repeated that the team must think beyond the limits others set for it. In September 2024, U.S. Soccer conveyed his message that the players should “think big” from the very first day of preparations and that they must put their talent at the service of the team. The same idea remained present in the months leading up to the tournament. According to an Associated Press report carried by American media, in March 2026, ahead of preparatory matches, Pochettino repeated the question “Why not us?” and said that the team must dream because, as he put it, dreams can inspire reality. In doing so, he did not offer a guarantee of results, but a framework in which he wants the national team to behave like a serious competitor.
Such an approach is not unusual for a coach who has built much of his career around teams based on intensity, collective discipline and psychological energy. According to U.S. Soccer’s official profile, before taking over the U.S. national team, Pochettino managed Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, and with Tottenham he reached the Champions League final in 2019. His coaching reputation rests largely on player development, high pressing and the belief that a team can exceed the sum of its individual qualities. That is exactly what he is now trying to transfer to the U.S. national team, which has a number of players from strong European leagues, but according to most comparisons still does not sit in the same tier as France, Spain, Argentina, England, Portugal or Brazil.
According to the FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking published in April 2026, reported by ESPN, the United States was 16th before the tournament, while France, Spain and Argentina held the top positions. That figure explains well why Pochettino’s words sound bold: the U.S. national team is not an outsider without quality, but it is also not a team that the international order places among the main favorites. Pochettino is therefore not trying to erase the gap to the strongest sides through rhetoric alone. His message is that, in a short tournament, with home-field advantage, good preparation and a clear playing structure, the gap can be narrowed enough to create room for a major result.
Home soil as an opportunity, but also a test of maturity
The 2026 World Cup will be the largest edition of the tournament so far. FIFA states that it will be played from June 11 to July 19, 2026, in Canada, Mexico and the United States, with 48 national teams and 104 matches in 16 host cities. The expansion of the tournament has also changed the competitive framework: after the groups comes a broader knockout phase, so progress will depend not only on finishing in one of the top two places, but also on the ranking of the best third-placed teams. For the United States, this is an opportunity to make a breakthrough on home soil, but also an obligation to show stability already in the group, because a weak start could significantly alter its path through the tournament.
The first match against Paraguay therefore carries special significance. In its Group D overview, FIFA states that the United States will play against Paraguay, Australia and Turkey, which on paper looks like a group in which the host can target first place. Still, each of those national teams has elements that can complicate the plan. Paraguay traditionally brings toughness and competitive awkwardness, Australia has long been known for physical organization and discipline, while Turkey has technically strong players and the ability to turn a match into an open, unpredictable duel. Pochettino’s statement about winning the tournament therefore does not reduce the importance of the first objective: the United States must first win enough points and avoid a situation in which ambition turns into nervousness.
Home soil can bring more than support from the stands. In the group, the U.S. national team will not be crossing continents or time zones, and according to the published schedule, it will play the first and third rounds in Los Angeles, while the second match against Australia is scheduled for Seattle. Such a geographical advantage can help with recovery and preparation routines, which is often decisive in a tournament with short gaps between matches. But hosting does not guarantee a result. It intensifies public attention, increases the number of off-field obligations and places the players in an environment in which every draw or weaker performance is experienced more intensely than at a neutral tournament.
A roster combining European experience and domestic competition
On May 26, 2026, U.S. Soccer announced the 26-player roster Pochettino selected for the World Cup. The squad includes, among others, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna and Tim Weah. It is a generation with significantly more international experience than many earlier U.S. selections, but also a group that still has to confirm itself with a result on the biggest stage. Pulisic has long been the most recognizable name in American soccer, McKennie brings energy and experience from Serie A, Adams offers stability in midfield, while Balogun and Pepi represent attacking options that should turn possession and pressure into concrete goals.
Pochettino’s challenge is not only to choose the biggest-name eleven, but to find a balance between pressing, technical quality and defensive security. Over the past decade, the United States has often shown athletic power and the ability to stand up to stronger opponents, but in knockout matches it has lacked composure in the final third and precision in defensive details. It is precisely those details that are decisive in matches where the difference between advancing and being eliminated is measured by one lost ball, one set piece or one wrong reaction in transition. Pochettino is therefore asking the players not to be satisfied with being part of a “talented generation,” but to show that they can withstand the pressure of results.
In that context, squad depth is also important. According to U.S. Soccer’s roster announcement, Pochettino included a combination of players from European clubs and Major League Soccer, thereby keeping competition for places in the dressing room alive right up to the tournament. Such a selection shows that the head coach does not want a national team built only according to reputation, but according to the role each player can have in a concrete plan. At a World Cup, especially in an expanded format, key players are not only those who start matches. Substitutes, set-piece specialists, players who can protect a lead or change the rhythm when a game opens up can be just as important.
History warns how big a breakthrough is needed
The United States’ major ambitions should also be viewed through the history of its World Cup appearances. According to U.S. Soccer, the best result by the U.S. national team in the modern era was reaching the quarterfinals in 2002, when the team, after beating Mexico in the round of 16, was stopped by Germany. At the 2022 World Cup, the United States advanced from the group, but was eliminated by the Netherlands in the round of 16, which is also confirmed by FIFA’s archive of results from the tournament in Qatar. Therefore, the step from being a stable participant in the knockout stage to a title candidate is not small. It requires victories against opponents accustomed to winning, or at least regularly playing in the final stages of major tournaments.
Pochettino is aware that a statement about winning the World Cup may sound excessive if viewed only through tradition. The United States has never reached a semifinal in the modern format, and the 2002 quarterfinal remains an exception, not the standard. But that is precisely why the head coach is trying to change the starting point of the team’s thinking. If a team enters a tournament with the goal of “not disappointing,” every difficult match can look like its upper limit. If it enters with the idea that it can measure itself against the best, then both the group and the first knockout round are only stages in a broader plan.
That does not mean Pochettino’s ambitions are free of risk. A high bar can motivate, but it can also increase disappointment if the result does not come. In the American soccer environment, the 2026 World Cup carries additional weight because it is being played in a country where soccer is trying to use the biggest global stage to expand its influence. A successful national team performance could give a strong boost to the sport, the league, development programs and the perception of soccer in competition with traditionally dominant American sports. A weak showing, especially elimination at an early stage, would raise questions about whether the most talented generation of recent years missed its biggest opportunity.
Between dream and reality
Pochettino’s message is therefore sporting, psychological and strategic at the same time. He is not claiming that the United States is individually better than the biggest favorites, but that the national team must not limit itself in advance. According to his earlier statements published by U.S. Soccer, belief in victory is not an addition to preparation, but its foundation: without it, as he said, everything is much more difficult. In international soccer, where teams come together for short periods and where identity must be built faster than in clubs, such mental clarity can be just as important as a tactical detail.
For the United States, the first test will be Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles. After that come Australia on June 19 in Seattle and Turkey on June 25 again in Los Angeles, according to the schedule published by FIFA and American media. In those three matches, Pochettino’s team must show that grand rhetoric has a foundation in its play: in control of rhythm, solidity without the ball, taking chances and calmness when the game becomes complicated. If the United States advances from the group convincingly, the story of a host that can go far will no longer be just the head coach’s motivational message. It will become a real narrative of a tournament being played at a moment when American soccer wants to make the biggest breakthrough in its modern history.
Sources:
- U.S. Soccer – quotes from Mauricio Pochettino’s introductory press conference and his message that the United States must believe in winning the World Cup (link)
- U.S. Soccer – official announcement of Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as U.S. men’s national team head coach and the context of his tenure (link)
- U.S. Soccer – official 26-player U.S. roster for the 2026 World Cup (link)
- FIFA – official 2026 World Cup schedule, dates, hosts and number of matches (link)
- FIFA – overview of Group D at the 2026 World Cup with the United States’ opponents (link)
- ESPN – overview of the FIFA/Coca-Cola ranking from April 2026 and the United States’ position before the tournament (link)
- U.S. Soccer – historical overview of the United States’ run to the 2002 World Cup quarterfinals (link)
- FIFA – archive of the United States’ results at the 2022 World Cup and the defeat to the Netherlands in the round of 16 (link)
- Associated Press / Yahoo Sports – Pochettino’s “Why not us?” statement and message about belief in winning the World Cup ahead of preparatory matches in 2026 (link)