New U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino said he aims to take the team to the quarterfinals of the 2026 World Cup on home soil, a feat they haven’t accomplished since 2002.
Pochettino suggested the target is not just his but also shared by U.S. Soccer’s higher-ups, who have long hoped a statement-making performance on the field would kickstart a new chapter of soccer’s growth in the country.
“The truth is the quarterfinal is the target,” the head coach said on an episode of the It’s Called Soccer podcast. “They were very clear and I am very honest to you and I think that was the idea, the challenge. They know that it is going to be difficult but I am a person and we are people that really, really believe that we can. We all think that the talented group can perform better and we accept the challenge.”
The USMNT have progressed past the round of 16 of the World Cup just twice, though the first was in the inaugural tournament in 1930, when the knockout rounds began at the semifinal stage. The only time the team played in the quarterfinals was in 2002, when they were ousted by Germany in a controversial 1-0 loss.
It is an ambitious target for Pochettino and company, but one that comes as little surprise at this point. The Argentine is an unprecedented high-profile coach for the USMNT, a team that has mostly been led by American coaches with experience in the local game, but Pochettino’s experience in the Premier League and Ligue 1 led him to become U.S. Soccer’s highest-paid coach ever. He was equally aspirational in his first press conference since taking the job last week, encouraging the USMNT and those in their orbit to think big.
“We need to believe that we can win, that we can win all your games, that we can win the World Cup,” he said, “Because if not, it’s going to be so difficult to show it and we want players that arrive at day one on the training camp thinking big and that is the only way to create this philosophy.”
Pochettino will coach his first USMNT games next month when the team will play friendlies against Panama and Mexico.
