Doug McIntyre
Soccer Journalist
Now that Mauricio Pochettino has finally officially been named the new coach of the United States men’s national team, the hard work for the Argentine begins.
The 2026 World Cup is less than two years away, and the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager will have to hit the ground running — Pochettino will have just nine FIFA fixture windows to work with the USMNT before the main event arrives in the U.S., Canada and Mexico in 21 short months.
Which players figure to thrive in Pochettino’s system? What can he learn from former Chelsea colleague and current U.S. women’s national team boss Emma Hayes? And what items will be on his shortlist when he steps in front of his charges for the first time in October?
Here’s how things could play out.
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What players will benefit most under Pochettino?
Where to begin? Every single player in the pool stands to gain from the “new coach bump” — with a clean slate now, they all must prove themselves from Day 1 to Pochettino, who will have the full attention and respect of the USMNT’s locker room based on his sterling résumé alone.
Pochettino has a reputation for developing young players, and the U.S. is still a young team that hasn’t yet reached its prime, as a group or individually. Tim Weah is still just 25. Sergino Dest and Folarin Balogun are 23. Yunus Musah and Gio Reyna are 21. All were starters under Gregg Berhalter and all will compete for lineup spots under the new coach.
“I feel like he’ll be able to help a lot,” Musah said in a recent CBS interview with former U.S. forward Charlie Davies. He is a manager that has worked with top players, he definitely has a lot of things to teach us.’
But several individuals stand to benefit more than others. Pochettino likes players who can run all day, which suits the likes of Musah and Antonee “Jedi” Robinson. Same for hard-pressing striker Josh Sargent up top.
And Pochettino should be able to squeeze even more out of Christian Pulisic — who he reportedly tried to bring to Tottenham toward the end of his tenure with Spurs — and especially Weston McKennie, who will immediately be held to a higher standard than he was during Berhalter’s final year at the helm.
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How does he follow Emma Hayes?
There is no opportunity for Pochettino to hoist a major trophy less than a dozen games into his international tenure, which is what his former Chelsea colleague Hayes achieved by winning Olympic gold with the U.S. women earlier this month at the Paris Games.
But like Hayes, Pochettino’s mere presence and his reputation as one of global soccer’s elite coaches instantly transforms the men’s program. He’ll restore confidence in a squad that badly underperformed at the 2024 Copa América simply by walking in the door, and that belief will only grow with each passing FIFA window. And he won’t have to wait too long to play for silverware, with the USMNT aiming to win a fourth straight Concacaf Nations League next March.
Also like Hayes, Pochettino should enjoy working for U.S. Soccer, though for different reasons. Despite the success of Chelsea Women under Hayes, the men’s team was by far the club’s main priority, a fact the former was constantly reminded of. The latter received unheeded second-guessing and interference from above at Chelsea and PSG before that.
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What’s Pochettino’s to-do list?
As much as there will be a honeymoon period for Pochettino, he also has to win right away. A convincing victory over Jesse Marsch’s Canada in September would be cathartic for US fans whether Pochettino is on the sideline or watching on from a luxury booth in Kansas City.
That friendly will be followed by three more this fall. The Americans will be expected to beat New Zealand and Panama at home, with the latter on Oct. 12 likely to mark the new man’s debut.
A high-profile exhibition in Guadalajara, Mexico follows three days later, and while the U.S. has dominated El Tri recently, there’s a reason the Americans have won just one match south of the border in 28 tries all-time.
In the medium term is the 2025 Nations League, the Concacaf Gold Cup, and probably several high-profile friendlies. More important is how the team is performing as next year draws to a close. Once 2026 arrives, Pochettino will have just one international window remaining before the Americans open their World Cup schedule in Los Angeles that June.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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