With less than 10 months until they kick off the 2026 FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium in LA, the U.S. men’s national team doesn't have much confidence, but manager Mauricio Pochettino remains adamant things will turn around before the tournament begins.
On Saturday, they dropped their seventh of their last eight games against opposition ranked in the top 30, losing 2–0 to South Korea in a largely listless performance, with goals from Son Heung-min and Lee Dong-gyeong.
Looking exhausted and dejected, Pochettino seemed at a loss as well as his record in charge dipped to seven losses in 17 matches, with wins only against primarily weaker nations.
“Overall, I think we were better than South Korea, but in the end, if you are not clinical, it’s difficult,” he said post-match. “Because we created more chances and we had the feeling that we controlled the game.
“I am very disappointed about the result, but I think overall the performance is a massive improvement... I am so pleased in the way that we are evolving, from the Gold Cup today with different players, but also the players start to understand what we expect from them.”
While the U.S. held more possession, they struggled to control the tempo of the game and were caught on South Korea’s counter attacks. At the same time, the American starters struggled to find rhythm, with debutant Tristan Blackmon appearing overwhelmed by his first cap and striker Josh Sargent managing just 17 touches in 64 minutes.
The substitutes and adjustments saw some brighter moments for the U.S. in the second half, but the result only crept to its dejected end, even with a strong chance from Tim Weah in the fleeting minutes.
Winning Not a Priority for Pochettino
Even with some bright moments, Pochettino expressed his lack of desire for the team to get wins in friendlies, even as the U.S. Soccer Federation has lined up a bounty of top-tier opponents for the group to fine-tune themselves against in the lead-up to the World Cup.
“We need to start to win when the World Cup starts,” the Argentine manager said, seemingly dismissing the importance of building a winning rhythm before the tournament.
“[There are] too many examples of teams that win during five years [before the tournament] and then arrive at the World Cup and they don’t arrive in the best condition. I was involved in 2002 with Argentina, we were winning [for] years and then at the World Cup, and we were out in the group stage.”
However, that sentiment isn’t shared entirely around the roster, with AFC Bournemouth midfielder and USMNT captain from Saturday, Tyler Adams, admitting: “I love the feeling of winning, so I’d like to win games before the World Cup. I understand his thought process, you can still have good performances and not get the result. But at a certain time, it’s important to have some results.”
Looking Ahead
While the USMNT will likely have a different-looking lineup when they open the World Cup, the concerns around squad building and team cohesion were as evident as ever against South Korea. They will once again be tested against Japan on Tuesday.
In the end, a coach and a team will be measured by their wins and losses, and that rings especially true for the USMNT in the lead-up to the World Cup, with no competitive matches to dispel the form in friendlies; however, Pochettino wants to see it.
“They need to believe, the message [to the fans] is they need to believe,” Pochettino said. “The important thing is at the start of the World Cup, we need to have everyone who is going to be on the roster in their best condition.”
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘When the World Cup Starts’—Mauricio Pochettino Makes Bold Claim After Latest USMNT Loss .