Mauricio Pochettino, the 54-year-old Argentinian coach, initially underestimated the scale of the rebuilding task he faced when taking over the U.S. Men's National Team (USMNT) after their disappointing elimination from the 2024 Copa America. He inherited a program he described as "saturated by complacency" and initially felt "knocked out" by the challenge, admitting he and his staff were "so naive" and "misjudged the situation." Pochettino, who had no prior experience coaching a national team, quickly realized the job was "worse than we really believed" due to the limited contact permissible with players compared to club football.
Over the past 20 months, Pochettino embarked on creating a new team culture focused on unwavering belief and effort. A pivotal moment came in November, when he first introduced the slogan "Why not us?" during a team meeting, challenging players to believe in their potential to achieve big things, similar to past World Cup underdog successes like South Korea in 2002 or Morocco in 2022. This mantra, along with other motivational quotes like "Heart turns effort into belief," is now emblazoned in his office, serving as the team's "operating system." He persevered through initial setbacks, including a Gold Cup loss in mid-2025 and two defeats in the CONCACAF Nations League in March 2025, with many players now citing the fall of 2025 as a turning point.
This new mindset has paid dividends at the World Cup, where the USMNT, under Pochettino, has achieved historic success. They opened the tournament with back-to-back victories over Paraguay and Australia by a combined 6-1 score, marking the first time in U.S. World Cup history they started 2-0. They are also on the verge of winning three group-stage matches for the first time ever, facing Turkey next. The team's strong start and tactical prowess, combined with a favorable draw, position them for potentially their most impressive World Cup finish since reaching the semifinals in 1930, a testament to Pochettino's ability to transform talent into a unified, believing squad.
