Can Mauricio Pochettino fix the USMNT before the 2026 World Cup?

U.S. men’s soccer made history on Wednesday with the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino as head coach of the national team. The Argentine boasts a CV far more impressive than anyone who’s come before him in the role. And he racked up his resume by accomplishing what previous American coaches failed to deliver time and again: beating teams that were better than his.

“His track record speaks for itself,” said U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker in a statement following Pochettino’s appointment earlier this week. “He is the right choice to harness the immense potential within our talented squad,” Crocker added.

The task at hand for Pochettino isn’t short on challenges. As hosts of the next World Cup, the U.S. automatically qualifies for the tournament. The lack of qualifying matches means fewer competitive opportunities ahead of the summer of 2026 where Pochettino can test the team’s mettle against opponents with something on the line.

And the squad Pochettino is inheriting is coming off a recent failure at the Copa America, where the U.S. failed to advance past the group stage.

The last three teams Pochettino has managed, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham, all featured superstars of the world’s game. While the U.S. can boast AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic, the talent at Pochettino’s disposal can’t compare to the star-studded squads of his recent past.

But Pochettino believes in the team’s potential and wants his squad to deliver a nice product on the pitch. “The aesthetic is very important,” said Pochettino at his first press conference as manager in Manhattan on Friday. “We want to play nice football, good football, exciting football, attacking football,” said Pochettino. It’s a vision that contrasts with the USMNT’s recent style of play under former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter, which saw the team play practical, turgid soccer without always delivering results.

Asked at Friday’s press conference why he took on his latest role as U.S. coach, Pochettino cited “the challenge and the potential.” Pochettino rose to prominence on the world soccer stage by harnessing potential. During his time as the manager of English Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur, Pochettino relied on young, previously unproven players to deliver big upsets. And his trust in youth turned unknown names like Harry Kane and Dele Alli into superstars.

Before Pochettino came along, Tottenham vacillated between mid-table mediocrity and “best of the rest” status in the English top flight. During his 5 1/2 years there, from 2014 until 2019, Pochettino landed his team in a coveted “Top Four” position every season he was in charge. That meant qualifying his squad for the UEFA Champions League, a tournament for Europe’s soccer elite.

During his first full season in charge, Pochettino brought Spurs to the English League Cup’s 2015 final, only to lose to Chelsea. And in 2019, he brought his squad nearly to the pinnacle of European soccer with a historic run to the Champions League final, only to lose to English rival Liverpool.

Pochettino’s tenure ultimately failed to wipe the dust from Tottenham’s trophy cabinet. Spurs still haven’t taken home major silverware since the 2008 English League Cup final. But his energetic, highly disciplined, attacking style led them to make deep tournament runs and seriously challenge for a Premier League title. And he did so by getting the most from the players at his disposal, even when the opposition was better on paper. And he did it with a David budget that paled in comparison to the Goliath war chests of his opponents along the way.

Pochettino spent about $542 million on players during his 5 1/2-year tenure at Spurs. Meanwhile, Manchester City spent more than a billion dollars during that same period. The Argentine was able to keep up with his rivals by giving opportunities to young players and transforming them into superstars. And he said that willingness to give previously unproven players a shot will continue with the U.S. men’s national team.

“Every player now has the door open. If they perform, we are going to be there watching,” Pochettino said Friday.

One of the many criticisms of Berhalter was his inability to compete with the big boys in world soccer. Just before his sacking, Berhalter’s squad lost to Uruguay in July during the Copa America. In the 2022 World Cup, the U.S. was knocked out by the Netherlands in the round of 16. Throughout his tenure, Berhalter’s squad consistently lost or drew to top-notch competition.

Pochettino’s Spurs beat English powerhouse Manchester City and German titan Borussia Dortmund on its way to the 2019 Champions League final. In the Premier League, Pochettino’s men finished ahead of City, Liverpool and their biggest rival, Arsenal, on several occasions.

Pochettino’s time at Spurs came to a sour end. The squad languished in the Premier League, sitting at 14th in the table when he was dismissed. And since his time at Spurs, Pochettino has underwhelmed.

He managed to secure his first trophies as a manager while in charge of Paris Saint-Germain. But his squad featured superstars like Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and, of course, Lionel Messi. And PSG’s financial resources blow their French counterparts’ out of the water, making domestic trophy success seemingly inevitable. The club’s stated aim is to win the coveted and elusive Champions League, and Pochettino failed to do so while at PSG, with his team getting knocked out by Real Madrid in the round of 16.

Pochettino, nicknamed “Poch” by some, followed his time at PSG with a return to the Premier League, where he coached Chelsea in the 2023-24 season. Chelsea ended in a disappointing sixth place, though the club has struggled to find its footing since an ownership change in 2022 saw a consortium, led by American Todd Boehly, take the reins. And Pochettino’s men found momentum toward the end of last season, delivering some sizzling results with an attacking style of play just as he was headed for the door.

But American soccer fans should not fret about Pochettino’s recent tribulations. They’ve gone from a coach whose experience before leading the U.S. men was managing MLS side the Columbus Crew to a man who coached Messi and became champion of France.

The reality of American men’s soccer is that it cannot compete, at least on paper, with European and South American soccer royalty. American men have only recently begun to break into the upper echelons of European soccer at the club level. Many of the USMNT’s biggest stars have struggled to get consistent playing time. U.S. men’s soccer will struggle to achieve tangible success if the team can’t play to its potential.

But Pochettino is still aiming high.

Asked by host Roger Bennett on the “Men in Blazers” podcast what success means for the U.S. in the upcoming World Cup, Pochettino was unequivocal. “We win the World Cup,” Pochettino responded. “I think we need to dream that we are going to win the World Cup. I think we need to think big.”

The squad is crying out for a coach who can bring the team to perform beyond the sum of its parts. That is how Pochettino made his name at Spurs, and that is how he’ll hope to reinvigorate his career as he leads the U.S. men to a World Cup on their home turf in 2026.