Mauricio Pochettino’s intense training regime for USMNT

Mauricio Pochettino officially took charge of USMNT this week, leading sessions with his new team at their training camp in Texas.

The Argentine is tasked with getting the United States back on track after a severely disappointing showing at the summer’s Copa América, in which the team failed to emerge from a group alongside Bolivia, Panama and Uruguay. Pochettino has less than two years to cultivate a talented group of US players ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Speaking to reporters this week, USMNT stars Tim Ream and Antonee Robinson revealed that the new boss has wasted no time in making his mark.

“It’s intense. We had a pretty long session, one of the longer ones that we’ve had with the national team set-up,” Ream explained. “They’re really getting their ideas into our heads, and into our understanding, to make sure that we’re all on the same page going forward.”

Robinson added: “Obviously we’ve transitioned to Mauricio being head coach and it feels like a big change from the September camp to now. So we’ll have to wait and see how it unfolds.”

Building connections

With most of the squad playing for teams in the top European leagues there were some long journeys to arrive in Texas for the October camp. Robinson, who plays for Premier League side Fulham, admitted that there had been a swift turnaround from last weekend’s domestic action.

Robinson said: “Lads have been getting in on long haul flights so the coaches only met with people as a group today for the first time, saying how they want certain things to be. Yesterday [Pochettino] was meeting people individually and getting to know everyone a little bit better.”

By a quirk of fate, Robinson was actually the first US player to meet Pochettino after he was officially unveiled as the new head coach.

“It was a restaurant in Knightsbridge called ‘Clap’ and he lives pretty much next door. We had a Fulham team dinner there and he was there at the same time. A couple of the guys came in and said ‘Oh, we just walked past your new manager!’”

“I came over, said hello, and we were chatting for a little bit. I asked him if he’s excited, what the situation’s been like, whether he’d been over [to the US] yet. It was casual.”

For many of the players, however, Pochettino was a new face when they arrived at the training camp. Ream was one of those who went for a one-on-one conversation with the new boss as soon as he arrived in Texas and was impressed with what he heard.

“I had mine right when I showed up on Sunday and as the hours have ticked by you see all the guys going to have their sit-down chats. I think it’s great, [the coaching staff] want to know us and we want to get to know them. The message is that he is here to win.”

No time to waste for Pochettino and USMNT

The disappointing summer performances sparked real concern within US Soccer and the fan base across the country. As hosts of the 2026 World Cup a lot is expected from this group of players but they looked painfully flat during Copa América.

Pochettino - who’s resume includes the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea - is expected to transform the team’s fortunes and he’s wasted little time in getting to work. Usually players arriving from Europe would expect to have a more relaxed session on the Monday to ease themselves into the camp. This time around, there was no gentle introduction.

“Straight away, it seems a little more intense,” Robinson explained. “Yesterday we were straight into training and it was a tough session. We were like, ‘OK we’re here to work’, so it’s definitely intense. He knows we’ve got a short period of time to understand the principles that he wants us to play with.”

“It’s small steps, but it definitely feel likes a period where - although we’re going to enjoy it - we’re going to have to work hard to build to success.”

USMNT have little margin for error as they look to rebuild confidence in the coming months. The slow death of the Gregg Berhalter regime seemed to sap the energy from the squad and they were comprehensively outplayed by CONCACAF rivals Canada last month. There’s plenty of work for Pochettino to do and he’s wasting no time in getting started.