Disappointing USMNT Crowd Turnout Leads Coach Mauricio Pochettino to Make Honest World Cup Promise 

“Son in round, the back is a chance for Son, he is not going to miss from there.” And just like that, in the 18th minute, Son scored against his former boss at Spurs in the USMNT vs South Korea friendly. Lee Dong-gyeong sealed the deal in the 43rd minute with another goal. When the final whistle was blown, Mauricio Pochettino had lost the match by 2-0 at the Sports Illustrated Stadium, New Jersey. Another defeat for the USMNT at their home ground, or was it?

Had a man with no knowledge of the game looked at the crowd in the stadium, he would have thought the game was in South Korea. It was a red sea in the Sports Illustrated Stadium; reports indicate that nearly 80% of the field was filled with Korean supporters. “Please come more [to the games],” Mauricio Pochettino requested after the game. But that wasn’t the only thing; he made a promise for the 2026 World Cup as well.

In the post-match press conference on September 6, Pochettino said, “We need to start to win when the World Cup starts. (There are) too many examples of teams that win during (the previous) five years and then arrive at the World Cup, and they don’t arrive in the best condition. I was involved in 2002 with Argentina, we were beating (teams for) years and then (at) the World Cup, and we were out in the group stage.” What was this about?

In 2002, Argentina was made the pre-tournament favorite after a brilliant qualifying campaign and an unbeaten run of 18 matches before the finals dating back to July 2000. The big World Cup match against England saw Mauricio Pochettino fouling Michael Owen inside the box , which the referee awarded as a penalty. David Beckham converted, and the British won by 1-0. Before this, Argentina had made a victory over Nigeria ut the draw against Sweden after this match eliminated them. What else did the USMNT coach say?

Pochettino added, “I think for sure we have talented layers and we are going to be much better and we are going to prove and for sure we are going to arrive in the best condition.” Cannot say a promising player from USMNT and not name Christian Pulisic, can you? Other than him, Diego Luna and a few others are good players, but are they World Cup-ready? Only time will tell.

The coach also promised, “That is my message to the fans. We are going to arrive in a very good condition and with the help (of) with the fans, I think we are going to be very, very difficult to beat.” He seems to be putting up a deal: fans show support to the team by coming to the stadiums, and he is going to build a competitive team for the World Cup.

World Cup promise reflects as Mauricio Pochettino reflects on the match

In the post-match press conference, Mauricio Pochettino said that his team was better than South Korea and had shown massive improvement. “Overall, I think we were better than South Korea, but then if you are not clinical in your own area, and in the opposite box, it’s difficult because we create more chances, we have the feeling that we control the game,” he said. The US did take 17 shots at the goal in comparison to South Korea’s 5, but while they only could manage 4 on target, the Koreans only missed one. But the coach is positive.

He did say that he was disappointed with the result, but also added that he had told the players the results would come soon. “I am so pleased, if I put the result [aside], I am so pleased in the way that we are evolving from the Gold Cup. Today, with different players, different roster than the Gold Cup,” said Pochettino. Under him, the USMNT has now suffered its fourth shutout loss in 17 matches and its sixth loss this year.

The team is currently on a two-game losing streak after falling to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. “We need to start to win when the World Cup starts,” the USMT coach said. He has used 14 different lineups in 17 games and has just seven friendlies left before selecting players for the pre-World Cup training camp. What are your thoughts on his statements?