The United States is not one of the teams favored to lift the 2026 FIFA World Cup trophy this summer — can Mauricio Pochettino change that with his tactics?
FOX Soccer analyst Stu Holden joined The Herd to discuss the expectations of the USA ahead of the tournament, especially in Pochettino’s first World Cup leading the squad.
Stu Holden on Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah, USMNT’s expectations, Messi and Ronaldo entering their 6th FIFA World Cup | The Herd
“I think we’ve had an unrealistic feeling, and by we I mean, Mauricio Pochettino has been going through a process since he took over as coach, of stylistically how he likes to play and how we can play at times, which is attacking, and we have probably the most talented generation we’ve had in many, many years and some guys playing at the biggest clubs,” Holden said.
“So, inherently, you think ‘Ok, now we can go toe to toe, we can open up the game, we can attack, we can play sexy soccer.”
The United States is coming off back-to-back losses in their friendlies to Belgium and Portugal, where they were outscored 7-2. While the team has more chances with friendlies against Senegal and Germany, the United States will have to find their groove if they want to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.
“What we were reminded of, and what I was reminded of, is that if we want to play against the best teams in the world, you can’t allow them that time and space. We aren’t good enough yet to play in the same style as Argentina or Spain or England or Belgium or Portugal and expect to win.”
With all eyes on a struggling Christian Pulisic, Pochettino is under immense pressure to maximize the attacking talent on his squad. However, the defense needs just as much work for the team to make waves in the World Cup.
The Stars and Stripes will kick off their tournament run on June 12, facing Paraguay at Los Angeles Stadium.
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