United States men’s national team (USMNT) head coach Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as a replacement for former boss Gregg Berhalter in Sep. 2024. And he has claimed that his coaching team had a clear idea about the USMNT squad before joining.
USMNT Boss Opens Up on Initial Thoughts on His Squad
During a recent interaction on the ‘U.S. Soccer Podcast,’ Pochettino was asked to shed light on how he has selected and prepared his entire squad over the last 18 months or so.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea boss replied, “Before we arrived, it was easy to guess the roster. What we created is the competition in between them… in between 75, 80 players with the possibility to feel that they can get on the roster for the World Cup.”
Pochettino, who has mostly utilized a 3-4-3 or a 3-4-2-1 system as the USMNT boss, stated that he and his staff will carefully pick the 2026 FIFA World Cup squad. “What we are going to do is to try to be fair, with our values, our way to see things and to try to create the best roster, the roster that is going to fight, believing that we can win,” he concluded.
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The USMNT, who are unbeaten in their last five games, will resume their preparation for the upcoming FIFA World Cup later this month. It will first face Belgium in a friendly on Mar. 28 prior to its friendly clash against Portugal on Mar. 31. The final friendly before the World Cup will be against Germany on Jun. 6 after their match against Senegal on May 31.
In this summer’s World Cup, Pochettino’s team will lock horns with Australia, Paraguay, and the UEFA Playoff C winner, one of Turkey, Slovakia, Romania, and Kosovo, in Group D.
Meanwhile, USMNT icon Tab Ramos has asserted that the Stars and Stripes have a brilliant team capable of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals later this year.
“We have a competitive team. We have quite a few players doing well overseas, competing in leagues where they have pressure week in, week out. Not only to get on the team but to win games, that will be really helpful for this summer,” Ramos told The Mirror US.
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He said, “This year, we have a good draw, a draw in which we should win the group. I think anything less than a quarter-final appearance this time will be a disappointment.”
The USMNT will start their 2026 FIFA World Cup with a clash against Paraguay on Jun. 12.
