Big name, big-game experience, bigger hope: What Mauricio Pochettino brings to the USMNT

Harry Kane was always going to be a superstar. So too, was Heung-min Son. But would they have become the stars they are without Pochettino's guidance and patience?

Particularly in the early years of his career, Pochettino proved himself as a talent developer. Kane and Son became heroes under his watch at Tottenham, but they're just the best examples. He got a lot out of a little at both Southampton and Espanyol.

Pochettino was let go from Chelsea this spring after one season with the club, which finished sixth in the Premier League and didn’t qualify for this season of UEFA Champions League. In that season, however, the world was introduced to Cole Palmer, who rapidly went from young hopeful to star under Poch's watch.

It is, admittedly, all a bit different for the USMNT. Pochettino won't be working with these players day in, day out. Rising stars such as Gio Reyna, Folarin Balogun and Yunus Musah won't get everyday instruction, but the guidance they get from a manager such as Pochettino could be crucial.

Pochettino knows how to work with younger players. The best parts of his career centered on him taking a team and making them better than they were before. As he steps into a youthful USMNT, there's reason to believe that he can take this group and deliver vast improvement.

One of the criticisms that Berhalter faced, particularly towards the end, was that the relationships between player and coach had become too familiar. That criticism cited issues with ego, behavior and comfort levels. No worries now on that front with Pochettino, who is a coach that will command respect.

He will come in with no attachments to these players, offering everyone a much-needed fresh start. He also will enter with some pre-built respect stemming from his days in Europe. The man has coached Kane, Son, Kyliann Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi, for goodness sake. When he speaks, you should probably listen.

If Pochettino can handle egos at PSG, arguably the biggest snakepit in the world at the time, he can handle this USMNT. Everyone is starting with a blank slate except Pochettino, who enters with a resume and reputation that the USMNT's players have to acknowledge from day one.

It wasn't until recently that Pochettino found hismelf managing a team with expectations. He was always the coach of the underdog, the one that could get his team over the line against bigger and more established programs.

That's what he's stepping into with the USMNT, too. This is a good team, not a great one. To win, they'll need to get results against great teams.

They failed to do so under Berhalter, which is one reason he's gone. This group rarely struggled to beat the teams they were supposed to beat, Copa America 2024 aside, but they almost never beat the teams they weren't supposed to beat. This team has talent but, if it wants to go far at the World Cup, they'll need success both when expected, and when unexpected.

Pochettino has done just that countless times. He took a Tottenham team that was always outside of the Big Five and turned the Premier League into a Big Six. He did so by routinely challenging and beating the league's established giants. Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal - all fell victim to his Spurs team.

You can look at his Champions League history, too. Spurs' triumph over Real Madrid is heralded as one of his finest achievements, as he took down the Kings of Europe in the 2017 group stage with a midfield of Harry Winks and Eric Dier. Pochettino out-thought Zinedine Zidane that day.

Pochettino has the tactical expertise to go toe-to-toe with the best, and you rarely see the best in the international game. As a result, the U.S. will have a leg up on many teams they'll face before the opening whistle is even blown.

Speaking of the Champions League, we have to address tournament play. That's Pochettino's only real mandate with the USMNT. He'll be judged, almost exclusively, on how this team fares in the 2026 World Cup. Nothing else really matters. This is all about succeeding in one competition.

A quick look back at the 2018-19 Champions League shows that Pochettino can do that. After escaping a group that featured Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSV, Tottenham topped Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax en route to the final, where they fell to Liverpool. It was the first time Spurs had made a European final since 1984 and the first time ever they'd made a Champions League final.

Admittedly, that success didn't really translate to PSG, but you can't hold that against Pochettino. No one has cracked that code yet at that particular club and, with Mbappe now gone, that ship has probably sailed in Paris.

Either way, while his record isn't perfect, there is a long list of accomplishments. Pochettino knows what to do when the stakes are high and legacies are at play in the biggest of tournaments.

This isn't a department that the USMNT needs much help in. After years of bowing to CONCACAF kings Mexico, the scale has tipped in the USMNT's favor. They have routinely beaten El Tri in recent years, establishing the U.S. as the region's top dog.

Pochettino knows a thing or two about earning bragging rights. He's the man who ended St. Totteringham's Day after all. For the uninitiated, St. Totteringham’s Day was a that Arsenal celebrated every year for two decades. It was the day that Spurs could not mathematically finish above Arsenal, and it came like clockwork.

That is, until Pochettino and Spurs put an end to it in 2016-17. From there, Tottenham went on to finish above Arsenal for six consecutive seasons, although half of those came post-Pochettino. The belief began under the Argentine, though, and it continued on even after his departure.

In this sport, there are few things more beautiful than beating your rivals and, under Pochettino, Spurs finally got to taste that satisfaction.

There's one provision to this hire that cannot be underestimated: hope. Since the 2022 World Cup, the USMNT fanbase has largely been divided. Social media has turned into a battlezone. Since the Copa America collapse, so much of the narrative has gotten away from the optimism of hosting a World Cup.

Well, if you're not optimistic or happy about this hire, that says more about you than it does about U.S. Soccer. The federation went out and got a superstar head coach, one that should be easy for those inside and outside the program to rally behind.

All World Cups are big, but the 2026 edition different. That tournament, on home soil, is seen as a potentially revolutionary moment for American soccer. For years, the sport has fought its way into the country's culture, and that tournament - and the host team's performance - is an unprecedented opportunity to energize a nation. That only happens if the USMNT gives people a reason to dream, rallying behind the right leader to help inspire a country so desperate for soccer success.

Crocker has been U.S. Soccer's Sporting Director for about 16 months, and this was his third coaching search - and his most recent hire, Emma Hayes, set the bar high. A fellow Chelsea manager like Pochettino, Hayes just led the USMNT to their fifth Olympic title, first since 2012.

After firing Berhalter, Crocker stressed the need for US Soccer to hire "somebody that can continue to develop this potential group of players, somebody that's got a huge interest and a passion for player development. It continues to still be a young group – the second-youngest group in Copa América – but also a group that now is sort of in the realms of having a number of experiences, that we should be qualifying and getting out of the group for sure."

He added: "Winning is the yardstick, and we didn't do that. We are looking for a serial winning coach and a coach that can also build on the work that has already been put in place. Clearly, there's still a lot of potential in the group and we have to turn out the performance and results, so that's what I'll be looking for and that'll be my absolute No. 1 priority."

That part of the job is just about as important as anything he'll do on the field. Pochettino is now set to be the face of the USMNT. He'll represent this country as it heads into the biggest moment in American soccer history. That's a huge responsibility but, by agreeing to take this job, Pochettino acknowledges that he's up for the challenge.