September 17, 2024
What challenges will new USA boss Pochettino face?
For Mauricio Pochettino, the prospect of coaching the USA men’s team in a home World Cup was an alluring one.
It offered a unique opportunity to make history and play a big role in the story of American soccer – but with that opportunity comes considerable challenges coupled with high expectations.
Pochettino becomes the first foreign coach of the USA men’s team since Jurgen Klinsmann left in 2016. This ambitious appointment of a figure of global renown echoes the women’s team’s recent hiring of English coach Emma Hayes. Both are coups for US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker — the Welshman who previously worked with Pochettino at Southampton in 2013.
Pochettino’s contract will run until the end of the World Cup in 2026 and, though there are Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup tournaments to contend with between now and then, the focus will be squarely on preparing the team for that momentous World Cup on US soil.
What challenges will he face?
Just hours after Pochettino’s appointment was announced, the USA, led by interim coach Mikey Varas, played a friendly with New Zealand in Cincinnati and only managed a 1-1 draw. This followed a 2-1 defeat earlier in this international break by neighbours and fellow 2026 World Cup hosts Canada, who are coached by the American former Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch.
Disappointing results like these against local rivals or teams they would be expected to beat reveal the scale of Pochettino’s task.
When it comes to the team itself, challenges present themselves throughout the squad as Pochettino will look to assemble a group that can compete on the world stage and win those regional Concacaf tournaments in the meantime.
Star attacker Christian Pulisic and proficient Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson are obvious starting points but the rest of the team is more uncertain, often due to match fitness and availability issues as much as talent.
For a new coach coming from outside American soccer, this could be seen as a positive – a blank canvas on which to draw up their plan and try to find the right balance between MLS (Major League Soccer) and Europe-based players.
It wasn’t too long ago there was talk of a golden generation of American players but, for various reasons, some of those much-hyped in their youth have so far failed to live up to their billing.
Only Pulisic has been able to do so and it is around this former Chelsea and current AC Milan attacker that Pochettino will be looking to build.
Pochettino guided Tottenham to the Champions League final in 2019, with Spurs losing 2-0 to Liverpool
What has the reaction been in the States?
Pochettino’s appointment has been met with excitement in the USA and his lack of previous involvement in American soccer is mostly seen as a positive. With his tactical acumen, man management and standing in the game, he will be expected to get more out of the talent available than his predecessors managed.
The Argentine and his staff bring fresh eyes on the USA’s player pool and he will be expected to shake things up, perhaps springing a few surprises with his squad selection.
Any fan frustrations are mostly around how long it has taken for an appointment like this to happen. There is a sense of urgency bordering on panic ahead of 2026 amid a realisation there are now not many games before the World Cup begins.
There is a feeling the team has too often been in limbo during this important cycle. It took US Soccer six months to decide to re-hire Gregg Berhalter after his contract expired at the end of the 2022 World Cup. Berhalter was sacked in July of this year after a poor showing at the 2024 Copa America and there has been a further wait of almost two months to appoint his successor.
The wait to re-hire Berhalter and the time taken to appoint Pochettino meant that more than half of the USA’s post-2022 World Cup fixtures have been overseen by an interim head coach. Far from ideal preparation for such a big moment in the history of the sport in the country.
Why did they go for Pochettino? Who were the alternatives?
On this occasion, US Soccer cannot be accused of leaving any stone unturned as they looked for Berhalter’s successor.
Just as they went for a coach considered among the best in the world for the women’s team in Hayes, they set similarly high targets for the men’s team.
Along with Pochettino, Jurgen Klopp was among the names Crocker and his team approached. They likely knew Klopp could not be tempted back into management after leaving Liverpool but the approach itself signalled their intent.
With Pochettino free after leaving Chelsea in May, he was always going to be one of the more realistic candidates of this calibre and US Soccer appears delighted to have secured one of its top targets.
Pochettino, pictured with Brazil forward Neymar, won the French Cup and Ligue 1 title during his time at Paris St-Germain
What will be his targets before the World Cup?
Given the USA qualify for the World Cup as hosts, there will be relatively few competitive games for Pochettino to oversee between now and 2026.
His first games will be friendlies against Panama and Mexico next month. Panama’s rise to becoming the third-highest ranked team in Concacaf and Mexico’s recent drop out of the world top 15 make them unpredictable opponents.
Competitive action comes in the shape of the Concacaf Nations League Finals in November and March. As one of the top four teams in Concacaf, the USA get a bye to the two-legged quarter-finals, so there are a maximum of just four games to be played in that tournament.
Having won the three editions of the Nations League since it began in 2019, Pochettino will be expected to repeat that success, and will also be expected to win the Gold Cup (the Concacaf equivalent of the Euros) in 2025.
Pochettino’s appointment itself will increase expectations on this team but there is a sense that the USA have finally got the kind of head coach supporters have been calling out for. – bbc.com
