Mauricio Pochettino taking the positives from March losses

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino sought to take the positives from a difficult March international break, reflecting on two defeats to Top 10 nations on home soil. Speaking after a 2-0 loss to Portugal on Tuesday, Pochettino insisted that “this camp is very positive.”

Pochettino said that his team had been “punished” by the clinical finishing of Portugal and Belgium across the two games, pointing to the quality of both sets of opponents. “If they have a centimeter, they can score,” the USMNT head coach sighed.

He framed the two games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta as a chance for his team to test themselves against two of the strongest national teams in the world. As co-hosts for this summer’s World Cup the US have had no competitive qualifiers but the March fixtures gave the team a real test. Pochettino was optimistic about what he saw in the USMNT performances.

“I am more positive now than before. I have seen the team compete and we are not far away,” Pochettino said. “We are the USA, and we are competing against Belgium and Portugal.”

Pressed on whether the players would be demoralized by the back-to-back losses, Pochettino insisted the team would take important lessons from the games. Referencing the team’s struggles to beat elite-level opposition, Pochettino said: “We hope that the first time will be in the World Cup. We have to learn, but that’s why we play teams like this.”

These two games are the last outings for the side before Mauricio Pochettino names his final squad for the 2026 World Cup. The team will then join up for a further two pre-tournament friendlies against Senegal and Germany before the opening game of the World Cup against Paraguay.

Across the two games there is an unmistakable core that has started to emerge with the likes of Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah and Folarin Balogun all getting extended playing time. However there are still plenty of places up for grabs, both in the starting XI and in the 26-man squad.

Speaking after the game on Tuesday Pochettino admitted that he still has a lot of decisions to make, with at least 35 players still in contention to make the final 26. “It’s going to be painful,” the US boss said.

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