From ‘Why not?’ to ‘What if?’ - Mauricio Pochettino’s first USMNT World Cup cycle ends with a squandered chance and uncertain future

All summer long, Pochettino consistently asked the question, "Why not us?"

It became a rallying cry. If a country can't rally behind a team in a home World Cup, when could they? If a group of players couldn't believe in themselves in these moments, could they ever? As the summer wore on, the rally cries became louder. Maybe Pochettino was onto something.

Despite some initial selection controversies, the USMNT opened the summer with solid performances against Senegal and Germany. The beatdown of Paraguay to open the World Cup will go down as one of the most fun USMNT results ever. The atmosphere was electric against Australia and a loss to Turkey didn't dent anything. Then, with a win over Bosnia and Herzegovina despite going down to 10-men, Pochettino seemingly helped his team take a next step.

The USMNT did so in style, too. They played aggressive, high-paced attacking soccer. They smothered opponents and then punished them any time they tried to come up for air. For the first time, American soccer's top stars danced on the field at a World Cup. They were talented, and they were aggressive. More than anything, they were fun to follow.

For years, American fans were desperate to see a team really play at a World Cup. The USMNT truly did that in their first four games.

Then came the fifth, the meeting with Belgium. In that game, the USMNT failed to deliver anything close to what they had showed previously. , While much of that is on the players, none of whom will walk out with their head held high, some of it is also on Pochettino, who could only watch as his team totally collapsed under the weight of expectations.

Pochettino wanted his team to play with a sense of ease. "Relaxation brings concentration," he said, quoting Argentine World Cup winner Jorge Valdano. If the USMNT stayed calm and confident, he believed, everything else would follow.

The problem was that, against Belgium, the USMNT were none of those things. They were tense, timid and reactive, a team playing not to make mistakes rather than one convinced it could seize the moment. The joy and freedom that defined the early stages of their run did not get sucked out of the stadium in Seattle. It never arrived.

That is what made the loss so disheartening. The relaxed yet ruthless team Pochettino seemed to be building vanished when the level rose. And that raises the uncomfortable question: was that version of the USMNT ever real, or was it simply a team riding momentum against lesser opposition before being exposed by a genuine contender?

“Maybe the explanation is so easy: it wasn’t our day, in the quality and individual," Pochettino said. "Of course, the principal responsible is myself, and yes, we need to see and to check what we did because it wasn’t the performance or way that normally we play.”

"I think we were not at our level," he added. "We started in a poor way. We never found the flow of the game. Even after we scored, in the next action we conceded a goal. It was a very bad day. We didn't show the quality from previous games. We have to accept we weren't good. We don't need to find excuses."

Pochettino's right: no excuses. After social media latched onto flashy quotes about touching the moon, the USMNT couldn't come close to touching Belgium, who ran laps around them in every facet of the game.

Still, there was something different about the buildup to Belgium, and it may have played a part. After spending the summer as lovable, talented underdogs, Pochettino's USMNT suddenly found themselves cast as the tournament's villains. And in moments like that, perception can shift quickly. The team that once played with freedom was suddenly carrying a very different kind of weight.

To be clear, the USMNT's vibe shift was through no fault of Pochettino or the players. They, too, could only watch on as the story spun out of control. On Monday, hours before the biggest game in USMNT history, President Donald Trump was on television bragging about FIFA overturning a red card. From the moment that Folarin Balogun's red card was overturned, the vibes shifted, and they didn't shift for the better.

While the USMNT was in a joyful mood initially during their Sunday training, by the afternoon, things started to sour. The more that the President's involvement became clear, the more the outside world began to latch onto the narrative. The USMNT, once a team winning over neutrals with swagger, substance and goals, had become despised. Through the group stage, Pochettino's USMNT symbolized hope, belief and, generally, fun. Leading up to Monday's game, for much of the world, they symbolized corruption.

You could argue about whether that's fair or unfair, but it is reality. What's inarguable is that the USMNT did not take well to their recasting, and that it may be one of the dozens of things that led to their total undoing on the field.

"If you have available Balogun because the disciplinary committee of FIFA allowed it, then it is not a problem," Pochettino said, "but in a personal way, I feel so disappointed with too many people talking about politics and manipulation or ethics and integrity. It's not an excuse to say we didn't perform because of that. That's not true."

Pochettino can stick to that line, but the fact is that, even if the performance wasn't influenced, this team's legacy sure is. For the outside world, the narrative is that this is a team that sold its soul to politics and lost. For casual Americans, this is a group that was handed a break and squandered it.

All of that is, at the very least, a cloud hanging over this summer, and this tournament will, for better or worse, be remembered for the 36 hours between the Balogun announcement and the final whistle far more than the month of performances before it.

All of this will be part of Pochettino's legacy, fairly or unfairly. He had the USMNT playing some of the best soccer it has ever played at a World Cup. He also presided over a moment in which the program squandered the biggest opportunity in American soccer history. You cannot fully discuss one without the other, but it is safe to assume which part will linger longer.

What comes next for U.S. Soccer remains uncertain, even if the end goal is obvious. For all the talk about the next coach, sporting director or big-picture initiative, this simply has to get better. This was not good enough, and it was not the step forward the program needed. In the end, the USMNT took a roundabout route right back to a familiar place, only with more promise behind them and a more painful stumble at the exit.

Is that enough for U.S. Soccer to bring Pochettino back? According to a statement Monday, the federation is at least open to it.

"We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post-World Cup. We have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Mauricio, his staff and everyone part of the program," U.S. Soccer said. "We have shared excitement about our potential and also shared clarity about the amount of work at all levels still required to achieve our ambition."

The bigger question may be whether Pochettino wants to return. A contract offer was reportedly on the table before the tournament. Only the two parties involved know where that stands now.

“This journey was amazing,” Pochettino said. “It’s still not even been two years at the federation. A cycle is four years. Today we closed a chapter about assessing players. Now, we have a complete assessment from a lot of players. If we commit to be here in the future, we have a clear idea."

"It's now about resting a little, thinking, then having some conversations, and then we'll see what the decision is from the federation and from us," he continued. "I am so happy. We have built a good relationship, but now is not the time to talk about that."

There will be plenty of time to talk in the coming days. That is the nature of tournament exits. Once it is over, there is time to reflect, time to assess and, eventually, time to figure out where to go next.

That part remains a mystery. What is not in question is that, if this is the end of the Pochettino era, it ends with a bitter taste and so many thoughts about what could have been. The USMNT spent this World Cup asking, "Why not?" In the end, they were left with "What if?"