USMNT Curse Stands Between Mauricio Pochettino’s Plea to American Crowd Ahead of 2026 World Cup

The closer we get to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the more predicaments the US Men’s National Team seems to be facing. Nine months, to be precise, remain until the prestigious international tournament returns, and as a major co-host alongside Mexico and Canada, the Stars and Stripes are enduring a rapid downfall from grace. And guess what head coach Mauricio Pochettino is doing? “Please come more [to the games]”—he pleaded—calling on the American crowd to show up in greater numbers.

And while doing all of this, he is also dealing with the mounting pressure of… yes, of course, the World Cup. But there’s something else demanding his attention. Well, not one, but actually three curses that need urgent addressing. It all stems from their poor on-field displays, with the latest setback coming against South Korea—a first-half dominance led by goals from Son Heung-min, Poch’s former disciple, and Lee Dong-gyeong.

This latest blow has now seen the USMNT endure defeats in five straight games against FIFA top 25 teams by a combined 11-1. The next biggest curse is that the American boys are winless in seven straight such games, getting outscored 17-3. And last but not least, keeping aside Mexico, the last time the US secured a win against any top 25 team of FIFA was back in the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, that too, under Gregg Berhalter, securing a narrow win in their final group stage game.

Sounds…worrying, right? Then again, in such moments, we’d like to highlight the daring optimism of Mauricio Pochettino. Despite the loss, the former Chelsea boss insisted that his side was “better” than South Korea and had shown significant improvement. Technically, he is right, if one takes their eyes off the scoresheet and focuses on other remarkable numbers that the American boys were able to generate.

The U.S. fired 17 shots compared to South Korea’s 5, but with only 4 finding the target, while the Koreans missed just once, the outcome told a different story. Yet, the coach is positive and is happy over the fact that his team is finally finding its footing and evolving from the Gold Cup upset against Mexico. Now add this latest South Korea loss, and we have a US team who are on a two-loss streak.

So far under his watch, the team has recorded its fourth scoreless defeat in 17 outings—and its sixth overall loss of the year. And Poch’s response? “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.” Talk about optimism!

“We need to start to win when the World Cup starts,” he added. But right after that, eyebrows were raised when, in the very same tone, he made an unexpected take. The 53-year-old pointed out how there have been too many examples of teams that dominate for years leading up to the tournament, only to arrive at the World Cup in poor condition.

Drawing from his own experience, he recalled Argentina’s 2002 campaign, when, despite years of winning form, they crashed out in the group stage. Umm, hello, read the room, eh? Nine months before the crucial tournament, we don’t think fans would be interested in hearing such a negative and undermining example for the least.

Oh, and speaking of fans, it looks like the USMNT and Mauricio Pochettino have lost them, let alone maintaining control in the locker room!

What’s the actual deal between Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT?

“I don’t know what to expect anymore. That’s where we’ve gotten with the USMNT. Nobody really knows.” Imagine these words coming out of the mouth of a former USMNT striker, Herculez Gomez. His frustration? Well, limited time and experience are one thing for the player-turned-pundit, who raises concerns over his nation’s preparations for the 2026 World Cup. More than that, it’s the uncertainty surrounding the selection of players.

Gomez stressed that by now there should already be a clear picture of the team’s foundation—its strongest XI, the fringe players, and the overall setup. Instead, the worrying truth is that both fans and pundits are still debating who will fill key roles such as the center-backs, goalkeepers, strikers, and other crucial positions. Fact: Poch has rotated through 14 different lineups across 17 matches and now has only seven friendlies remaining before finalizing his squad for the pre-World Cup training camp.

This concern was also shared by former USMNT player Charlie Davies in his column for The Athletic. With just nine months left before the World Cup begins on home soil, Davies took aim at Pochettino for “still experimenting, still familiarizing himself with the player pool, and still ‘sending messages’ to players? Really?”

Sure, while announcing the roster earlier, Pochettino specifically noted that this camp would serve as the final chance to look at different players and introduce new faces. More explanation of snubbing key names like Weston McKennie, Haji Wright, and Joe Scally, along with Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah, Tanner Tessmann, and Aidan Morris, was simply due to their own domestic pressures.

At the same time, he highlighted that the group possesses the experience, quality, and ability to observe, evaluate, and analyze in order to put together the best possible plan to make sure they reach the World Cup in peak condition. But how can one believe that, considering there are certain problems within the team? Where does this come from, you ask? Well, we’re talking about Christian Pulisic’s Gold Cup absence drama.

The AC Milan forward had opted out of the tournament, citing fatigue—a decision that drew criticism and painted Mr. Captain America in a poor light. Nevertheless, the USMNT coach named Pulisic in the September squad for the friendlies against Japan and South Korea. In fact, the Argentinian tactician even downplayed the summer controversy, noting that everything’s in the past, while conceding, “We all make mistakes sometimes, because we read the situation in a different way.”

Yet, the former Tottenham boss was dragged into the negative limelight by Herculez Gomez, insisting that there needs to be a man-to-man talk between the two about that incident. Whether or not that has truly happened remains unclear, but one thing is certain—just as pundits are losing faith in the team’s World Cup hopes, even the fans seem to be turning their backs.

The most recent example came in the clash against South Korea. On paper, it was another home defeat for the USMNT, but the atmosphere at the Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey told a different story. To an outsider, it might have looked like the match was being played in Seoul, as the stadium turned into a red sea, with reports suggesting nearly 80% of the crowd were Korean supporters.

That explains why Mauricio Pochettino seemed to be striking a deal: if fans show up to back the team in the stands, he will deliver a squad capable of competing at the World Cup. From all this, one thing is clear—there are problems within the USMNT both on and off the pitch. How they plan to tackle these issues remains to be seen.

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments.