After beginning his tenure with the United States national team in October 2024, Mauricio Pochettino will face the greatest challenge of his coaching career this year. The 2026 North American World Cup represents the most important mission for the 53-year-old Argentine manager, who must lead the Stars and Stripes into their second World Cup hosted at home.

Following spells at Espanyol, Southampton, Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea – experiences that took him to his first UEFA Champions League final and brought his first trophies as a head coach – Pochettino now has the task of completing the United States men’s national team’s preparation for the World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Despite a difficult start marked by defeats in key games, failure in the 2024–25 Concacaf Nations League Final Four and a loss in the 2025 Gold Cup final, Pochettino made the most of the second half of the year that has just ended. After struggling to find a system that brought out the best in his players, the coach made adjustments that gave the USMNT fresh momentum.

From the September international window onward, Mauricio Pochettino switched to a 3-4-2-1 setup, a change that helped the USMNT close 2025 with four wins and a draw in their final six games. On top of that, what further strengthens the South American coach’s position is that he had to work through several absences during this period, yet the team’s playing identity now looks clearly defined.

Final exam at the 2026 World Cup

As the road to the 2026 North American World Cup continues, Pochettino and the United States face an intriguing preparation schedule, with games against Belgium, Portugal, Senegal and Germany. Three elite European national teams and one of Africa’s strongest sides will make up the Argentine coach’s final stretch toward the tournament.

The ultimate test for Pochettino will come at the World Cup itself, where he will again face two recent opponents: Paraguay and Australia. He has already beaten both, but that offers no guarantee that the group stage will be a walk in the park. The real challenge is taking the USMNT into the knockout rounds, and players such as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and their teammates will need to prove they have what it takes to defend their home turf.

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