Pochettino says rebuilding the US national team is more difficult than he imagined.

In an interview, U.S. national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino said that when he started coaching the team, he was surprised by the lack of energy among the players, but also comforted by the progress the team made through continuous efforts.

The third round of Group D matches in the 2026 World Cup will take place, with the United States hosting Türkiye at the SoFi Stadium.

In the second round of the group stage, the United States defeated Australia 2-0 thanks to an own goal forced by Balogun and a goal from Alex Freeman, thus advancing to the World Cup Round of 32 with two consecutive wins.

Mauricio Pochettino from Argentina was appointed head coach of the U.S. national soccer team in September 2024.

Recalling his initial experience coaching the United States, Pochettino shared, "When we signed the contract, we realized how naive we had been. We discovered we had completely misjudged the situation because the reality was much worse than we imagined. I thought everyone would be eager to help and come to the national team, but that wasn't the case. It was like we had been hit hard, and our reaction was, 'What on earth is going on?'"

Speaking about the team's defeat in the 2025 Gold Cup final, Pochettino said, "To some extent, we expected to suffer such a blow. Although it was painful, it was necessary. Even for the players, they had to realize that if they continued in the old way, it would be impossible to be in the ideal state for the World Cup."

“Analyzing the whole process is not easy. It’s like planting a seed in the soil. At first, you can’t see anything, and then the seedling slowly grows. Explaining the whole plan is also difficult because the national team and the club are different. The club can train every day and has a match every three days to show the progress. But if you look back at the whole process, you will find that all of this was necessary and a necessary change.”

Pochettino also stated, "We tell ourselves that we can do it. If we believe we can do it, we can do it. If we keep trying, we can do it. If we change our mindset, we can do it."

Regarding the fans' enthusiastic support, Pochettino said, "It felt really wonderful to hear songs from your culture playing in Seattle. I think the most important asset is the renewed bond between the national team and the fans."