Pochettino takes responsibility for USMNT’s thrashing by Switzerland: “It’s my fault”

A year before the World Cup, one of the hosts, the United States, is not doing well with its play and results. Mauricio Pochettino’s team is going through a bad time and the criticism is directed at a coach who promised a lot, but who has not been able to give a leap in quality to the squad, especially after the 4-0 defeat against Switzerland.

After the friendly match against Switzerland, where the United States was the home team in Nashville, Pochettino took all the blame for the result and explained that these are friendly matches to prepare for the real goal, which is the World Cup

“I think the way we assess the first part and the game as a whole… first of all, it’s my responsibility the choice of the starting eleven. I wanted to give minutes to certain players. We were never in the game,” explained the Argentine coach.

I don’t want to make excuses. I am the culprit and the main responsible

Mauricio Pochettino

The match between the United States and Switzerland was quite uneven, the home team was never up to the task and by the 36th minute of the first half it was already all over with an unappealable 4-0 scoreline that left the fans who attended the stadium quite unhappy.

The main culprit

Pochettino followed the same line in the press conference and continued to say that he is to blame and not the players. The former Tottenham coach took responsibility for his mistakes and was quite self-critical. “I don’t want to make excuses. I am the one to blame and the main person responsible. And the one who is going to be criticised. I have no problem. I came here because I think this is a great challenge. The goal is still the World Cup and maybe we can win the Gold Cup and then have a good World Cup.“

Pochettino’s record in charge of the United States national team is not a positive one. The Argentine arrived in September 2024 and has managed 10 matches, with a record of five wins and five defeats.

The road to the World Cup

Before thinking about the World Cup, Pochettino’s team will have to focus on the Gold Cup, where they will be part of Group D alongside Haiti, Trinidad and Tobago and Saudi Arabia. In September there will also be two friendlies against South Korea and Japan.

While there is still a year to go before the World Cup, Pochettino’s outlook with the national team is not so encouraging and he will have to show a better version in the Gold Cup, otherwise he may not even make it to the big event at national team level.