Mauricio Pochettino says the USMNT is “bigger than any name” to his players ahead of the team’s preparations for the FIFA World Cup 2026.
POCHETTINO SAYS USMNT ‘BIGGER THAN ANY NAME’ AS FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 NEARS
Pochettino says the USMNT is “bigger than any name” that players need to aim for higher goals.
Furthermore, the 53-year-old Argentinian manager wants to instill a high standard for his players.
Moreover, he believes the sports culture of soccer in the US needs to change.
“The problem here in the USA is that soccer is seen as a nice game to play. But in different countries, it’s a game to compete, it’s a fight…it’s a sport war,” Pochettino said.
“We need to understand that soccer is a collective team, the USMNT is bigger than any name,” he added.
PULISIC, OTHER STARS’ ABSENCE SLOWS DOWN USMNT PROGRESS AHEAD OF GOLD CUP
The absence of Christian Pulisic and other stars have slowed down USMNT’s progress ahead of the Gold Cup.
Moreover, Pulisic, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie, and Antonee Robinson are recovering from exhausting stints in European leagues.
Furthermore, Pochettino trusts his current lineup will step up amid his stars’ absence.
“I think we want to win and compete really well in the Gold Cup, and it’s going to be tough,” the USMNT manager said.
“But I think what we expect is what we saw, and then we need to have the capacity to continue giving tools to the players to be better and better,” he added.
IMPROVEMENTS SEEN DESPITE THE LOSSES, SAYS USMNT DEFENDER ADAMS
The USMNT has shown improvements despite the losses, according to USMNT defender Tyler Adams.
Furthermore, the defender lauded the new players for building “a good building block” in their preparations.
Moreover, he acknowledged that most of the players are competing “from outside of CONCACAF” for the first time.
“I think for the first time, probably in the past few camps, we’re going to take a lot more positives away than negatives,” Adams said.
“The game is just a little bit different, but they played excellent,” he added.
Visit our FIFA World Cup 2026 website for more football news and other updates.
