After a successful January camp, expectations are high for Mauricio Pochettino and the United States men’s national team, but according to former coach Bruce Arena, it may be worth withholding judgment on the USMNT until they’re able to face top opposition around the world.
The current San Jose Earthquakes head coach managed the USMNT during multiple stints from 1996-99 and then again from 2016-17. While in charge, Arena won the Concacaf Gold Cup three times and coached the team at the World Cup twice, including a memorable run to the quarterfinals in 2002, but was also unable to undo the spiral that the team was going through in 2017 that led to them missing the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Arena is widely regarded as one of the best American managers ever and has the credentials to show for it, but speaking on Call It What You Want, a CBS Sports soccer podcast, Arena thinks it’s too early to judge what Pochettino has done even if the results have been good so far.
“Well, to be honest with you, I don’t think the competition has been good enough to make any kind of assessment. And playing games in January is not a good way of measuring where the team’s at,” Arena said. “I think you’ll obviously see more this year and, hopefully in 2026 the lead-up to the World Cup should be a schedule against top-flight teams.”
He makes a good point because while the USMNT did play a great 45 minutes of soccer against Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals in November, those are matches that they’re expected to win. Glittering victories against Venezuela and Costa Rica during January camp also aren’t times that the USMNT got to play the best players from those nations, but that’s also not the goal of that camp.
Pochettino has been on a crash course to learn as much as he can about the American player pool since his appointment in September of 2024, and that camp allowed him to work with talented domestic players like Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn and Patrick Agyemang. In a busy 2025 that includes Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup play, these are players that Pochettino will need to call upon and ones who, if they can handle stiffer competition, could end up being in the picture for the 2026 World Cup as well. That World Cup is something that Arena is looking forward to, thinking there could be a monumental moment to come.
“This time around, when you compare to ’94, we’re much [more] prepared for the World Cup in terms of the quality of our team, where the sport is today in this country. It’s in a much better shape than it was obviously in ’94,” Arena said. “And we’re going to host a great competition because we’re going to have real stadiums and real fields, everything’s going to be top-flight. That’s something we didn’t have in 94 and it was and there was a criticism for that. So, I think we’re going to be able to host perhaps the finest World Cup in our history.”
It will be an expanded World Cup with 48 teams instead of the traditional 32 but it is also expected to be the most attended World Cup in history between the United States, Canada and Mexico. The USMNT is in a position to perform well in that World Cup under Pochettino but there is a lot of work that needs to happen between now and then. Some of the issues remain the same as they were under Berhalter as the USMNT still seeks a signature win and consistent play.
The only top 20 FIFA team that the USMNT defeated from outside Concacaf was Iran at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and to be ready for 2026, they need to test themselves against more teams of that caliber.
“You know, if I have a criticism of the national team over the last five years, it’s been that they haven’t played against top competition. And I think that impacts the ability of the team to really improve and be much more competitive against the top teams in the world,” Arena said. “But having said that, I think playing at home is going to be a huge advantage, and I’m sure by the time the World Cup begins, the U.S. will be prepared to get out of group play, perhaps get to the quarterfinals and really challenge to see if they, you know, our dream always is can we get to the semifinals of a World Cup? And once you’re there, it’s anybody’s game.”
While members of the USMNT are being challenged in Europe, that piece about high-level friendlies is critical. Ahead of the Copa America, the cracks could be seen in the USMNT losing to Colombia 5-1, and if that match had been earlier, maybe there would’ve been a chance to make a change earlier to ensure the best performance possible in that tournament. Pochettino is someone who has great attention to detail so if he can schedule major friendlies, they will be growth moments for the USMNT.
With big teams also playing competitions such as Nations Leagues and qualifying contests, those friendlies will be harder to come by than in years past, but a benefit of being a World Cup host nation is that teams around the world will want to test themselves against the USMNT and get used to playing in America. If Pochettino can capitalize on that, it could turn into quite a fruitful lead-up to the World Cup for this team.
