After a disappointing Copa America as host nation this summer, and with the Men’s World Cup largely on home soil in two years, the USMNT had to make a major effort to replace Gregg Berhalter as head coach.
Consider their statement as given.
There’s a good argument to be made that Mauricio Pochettino will be the highest-profile coach in U.S. national soccer history when he signs his contract. Having made 649 appearances in European club soccer’s biggest competitions since 2009 – including 45 in the UEFA Champions League, one of them in the final – the 52-year-old Argentine has a wealth of experience and a résumé that is weighty enough to make him the face of the U.S.’s all-important 2026 World Cup campaign.
But reputation aside, what can USMNT fans expect from a Pochettino team? And does his appointment fit well tactically with the current generation of American players?
Since Gregg Berhalter took office almost six years ago, the focus of his tenure has been the 2026 Men’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico. A key goal of his tenure was the integration of young talent into the senior national team. Talents such as Christian Pulisic (top right), Tyler Adams and Sergino Dest established themselves in the team under his leadership.
There was a sense that the group had reached its collective peak ahead of the Copa America, also being played on U.S. soil this summer. But while heated debate continues over the relative quality of the “golden generation” of American players at Berhalter’s disposal, there is no doubt that they underperformed. The loss to Panama in the second of three group matches may have been due to an early red card for Tim Weah, but there was a worrying lack of creativity and forward momentum in midfield, in a team that still seems to rely too heavily on Pulisic for moments of attacking inspiration.
The good news is that Pochettino is known for his work with young players. He should relish the opportunity to develop the team he will take over with plenty of enthusiasm and exciting, versatile options in different areas of the pitch. Players such as Folarin Balogun (23), Gio Reyna and Yunus Musah (both 21) will appeal to Pochettino – players with star potential but who also have something to prove.
Pochettino’s penchant for working with young players is a deeply held belief that dates back to his own formative years, when Marcelo Bielsa – later his coach at Spanish club Espanyol Barcelona and the Argentina national team – gave him an early chance at Newell’s Old Boys club in their homeland, along with several other promising players who went on to make a big impression in the first team.
He also believes it is difficult to change the mentality or habits of more experienced veterans who sometimes cannot adapt to his methods. Pochettino seems to be wary of letting a few big names dominate the dressing room – it must be remembered that he played alongside Argentine icon Diego Maradona and Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho during his playing days.
Pulisic has status and prestige, but does not dominate to a detrimental extent. Pochettino did not like working with a star-studded Paris Saint-Germain side from January 2021 to summer 2022, as the big-name striker trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe undermined his focus on team cohesion without the ball.
In that regard, the USMNT team’s profile seems to fit him in terms of age and character, and he has plenty of time to build a rapport with the players before the World Cup in just under two years.
Pochettino led Tottenham to their first Champions League final in 2019 (Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)
In tactical terms, Pochettino is known for his philosophy of high pressing, which is why he prefers a young team. He stresses that it is not physical ability that counts, but how much the players are willing to run.
To further explore his style, we can take a look at The athlete‘s playing style wheel, using his only season as Chelsea manager to outline how his team appears to play compared to Europe’s top seven leagues. Those defensive stats stand out, their 89 out of 99 rating for intensity speaks to the attacking nature of their pressing.
A Central Progression rating of 96 suggests a desire to build attacks carefully and patiently through the middle – something that suits the technical players at the heart of the USMNT midfield. While many have struggled to find their rhythm in the three games at the Copa America, Pochettino will have plenty to do in that part of the pitch.
Adams, 25, brings unrivalled defensive strength as the base of the midfield three and is a talented ball distributor who can play incisive passes to the more advanced eights, while Johnny Cardoso, 22, is a strong tackler who is just as natural at setting the tempo from deep. Weston McKennie, 25,’s technical ability and versatility proved invaluable to Berhalter in the final years of his tenure, while Reyna provided real forward drive and fearlessness from a more advanced position as the USA won the CONCACAF Nations League in March this year.
Add to that Musah’s ability to carry the ball, the devilish late runs of 26-year-old Luca de la Torre and even the creativity and passing ability of 22-year-old Malik Tillman, and Pochettino has plenty of options for substitutions and changes.
Pochettino will have plenty of talent to use in America (Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Less encouraging is the 32 rating for chance avoidance on the style of play wheel above. Chelsea’s tally of 77 league goals last season was the third highest in the last 15 years, but came at a significant cost as they conceded more league goals (63) than in any other season since the Premier League was founded in the early 1990s.
As unglamorous as it may sound, in international football a strong defense is the most important thing and Pochettino has not been able to demonstrate this in his recent time on the coaching bench.
Such deficiencies would naturally put more focus on the individual quality of the back line and goalkeeper, areas where the current States squad has struggled. Goalkeeper Matt Turner barely played for his Premier League side Nottingham Forest last season and his shooting and ball distribution were questionable at times during the Copa America. Of the other options in that position, Cardiff City’s Ethan Horvath has again regressed in quality in the English Second Division Championship, conceding a poor goal when he came on as a substitute after Turner was injured in that game against Panama.
Matt Turner had a disappointing time at the Copa America this summer (Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)
Added to this is the lack of obvious candidates to replace centre-back Tim Ream, who turns 37 in October, and there are doubts about the strength of the squad behind him and the other current regular in that position, Chris Richards.
Pochettino’s possession game must be more controlled if the club is to adequately conceal this weakness on the biggest stage.
Ultimately, international football is a difficult terrain. With so much time between matches and a disproportionately high proportion of direct knockout games where everything is at stake, ambitious projects can be reduced to individual results and years of work can be undone in a few minutes of playing time.
Firings of coaches like Berhalter’s – and appointments like Pochettino’s too – are therefore difficult to evaluate; the “perfect” candidate is almost impossible to find. But for a team as young as the United States, which will have the eyes of the world firmly on it in two years, a name as well-known as his certainly brings the necessary experience and know-how, even if this is his first adventure as a coach in international football.
Golden generations do not last forever.
At least Pochettino will bring a welcome dose of conviction and expertise to this game.
Additional reporting: Michael Cox and Mark Carey
(Top photos: Getty Images)
