INGLEWOOD, Calif. — In mid-September 2024, Mauricio Pochettino walked through Midtown Manhattan as if he were walking on water. Cameras trailed him through the halls of Hudson Yards, into a ritzy theatre where, under spotlights, he was introduced as "one of the most sought-after managers" in global soccer. "This," emcee Andrés Cantor intoned, "is the start of something incredible." Pochettino had arrived to elevate the U.S. men's national team. And for six months, many fans trusted he would.
For six months, they soaked up his aura; they reveled in his mystical quirks. They stopped him for selfies, and chanted his name, and Pochettino lapped up their giddy warmth. He sought out photos, and doled out hugs. Freed from the pressure cookers of Paris and London, his smile seemed to radiate comfort.
Until, that is, he strode into a postgame press conference here at SoFi Stadium on Thursday, with disgruntlement and dismay clouding his face.
He was "really disappointed," he said, with the USMNT's loss to Panama; and "disappointed" again after Sunday's loss to Canada; and fans were, too.
He bemoaned a lack of “aggression,” of boldness, of grit, and many fans agreed with his assessment; but many also turned blame on him.
For six months, Pochettino enjoyed the so-called benefit of the doubt, the type that comes with a résumé replete with a Champions League final, Chelsea and PSG. He was a $6 million man whose contract was funded by billionaires. His stature towered over that of U.S. Soccer and U.S. players, so much so that he seemed untouchable.
But over four dispiriting days here in Southern California, his celebrity began to crumble.
His aura became a facade that concealed a still-stagnant USMNT.
His cute experiments became baffling decisions.
And his honeymoon ended.
Pochettino, by all accounts, is a pretty good soccer coach. He is not the primary reason for defeats to Panama and Canada. He should not have been expected to revive the USMNT after only three A-team training camps.
But basic facts are basic facts. Whereas Pochettino's predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, completed a CONCACAF three-peat and never lost a Nations League game, Pochettino's USMNT lost two in pitiful fashion.
And whereas Pochettino's Mexican counterpart, Javier Aguirre, has injected passion and purpose into Mexico's analogous rebuild, the USMNT seems to be regressing.
So, pressure began to creep toward Pochettino, in addition to the players he implicitly blamed for Thursday's face plant. His tactics are being scrutinized, now with a critical eye rather than a worshipping one. When, for example, he plays Yunus Musah, a strong central midfielder who's anemic in the final third, as a winger, fans question him rather than celebrate his ingenuity. When, for example, he needs creativity but leaves Gio Reyna and Diego Luna on the bench for 90 minutes, he is asked repeatedly: ¿por qué? Why?
He was hailed as a genius when experiments bore fruit. A few November tweaks burnished his legend. He flipped Tim Weah from the right wing to the left because, apparently, he and his staff had tested players for right- or left-eye dominance. He shifted Christian Pulisic to a central position; and Antonee Robinson, who typically bombs up the wing as a straight-line fullback, into an inverted midfield role. The result, a 4-2 demolition of Jamaica, was ascribed to his instant impact.
But in his three most relevant matches, his players looked scared and unprepared for an October friendly in Mexico; and disinterested in these Nations League finals. They failed to break down Panama, and failed to combat Canada. And fans began to realize that, ya know, if this coach weren't a supposed savior, he'd be getting ripped to shreds for these performances.
Pochettino seemed to realize this as he stewed on Sunday’s loss. He softened his criticism of the team, and — although he clearly felt both baffled and vexed by the players’ lack of pride and competitiveness — he strayed from those as explanations. “We are all responsible,” he said at his post-match press conference. He begged for time, optimism and calm analysis.
But all around him, for the first time, questions swirled about his ability to elevate the USMNT.
Longstanding concerns about an all-controlling manager’s fit in the international game went more mainstream.
Pochettino spoke this week about “discovering” a “different way to work” because, unlike at clubs, he hardly gets any time to understand and “feel” and mold his players. Whether he can adapt and “affect” them in a positive way, with so few training sessions at his disposal, was always a source of doubt. U.S. Soccer reached beyond its budget to make a seven-figure bet that Pochettino would, but a growing number of fans are beginning to ask: Was that foolish?
Pochettino's avenues of potential impact are limited. He can, as he said Saturday, "find different ways to motivate people or groups," but this group was motivated when necessary under Berhalter. They were inspired by a collective purpose. And in Pochettino's Argentine mind, they shouldn't need external motivation. "If someone doesn't feel their own motivation, it's difficult," he said. "In the end, you are missing something important."
Alternatively, he could pick different players for rosters and starting 11s. He did that Sunday, perhaps in part as a message to underperforming stars. In Diego Luna, the game’s lone American spark, he found an “example,” which he used to send that message: “The desire and the hunger that he showed is what we want.”
But then he quickly backpedaled. Because he knows, surely, that he cannot afford to drop or alienate his stars. The U.S. player pool simply isn’t deep enough. Although Luna excelled, other reserves were part of Sunday’s problems. Pochettino tossed them into an illogical blend of deputies and starters. The end product was, predictably, incoherent.
Which brings us to the third area of potential impact: tactics, gameplans and so on. Pochettino’s first crack at building them for an international tournament was, at best, ineffective.
So, he became susceptible to all the same doubts that have dogged U.S. players ever since the summer, and that have roared back to the fore with the 2026 World Cup approaching.
As he rose from his chair on the press conference podium, sensing the shift in mood, Pochettino apologized to the room. “Sorry guys,” he said with a wave and a sigh. “We feel all shame, but — next time.”
And for the rest of the night, presumably, he faced all the swirling questions. About 30 minutes later, slumped in his shotgun seat on the team bus, he glued his bespectacled eyes to his smartphone as the last of his players trickled on, and as the bus rolled off into the Los Angeles night.
He will be “self-critical,” he assured us all, and “think, as a staff, [about how] to be better. Better preparation, better analysis, better choice maybe.”
“And we are the first responsible,” he said. “It's not to blame the player. … Because we are responsible about the roster and everything.”
