After being critical of the United States Soccer Federation in the past, Canadian national team head coach Jesse Marsch is looking forward to Mauricio Pochettino potentially leading the U.S. men’s national team. Marsch was hired by the Canadian national team this year, leading them to a fourth-place finish at Copa America. Having faced off against Mauricio Pochettino in the past, the American holds him in high regard as the American federation reportedly closes in on the Argentine boss.
“I think Pochettino is a good coach. One of his best things is that he’s pretty malleable,” Marsch said on the latest episode of Call It What You Want, a CBS Sports Golazo Network podcast he previously co-hosted. “He really is pragmatic and tries to get the best out of his teams, he’s not married to one system — you can argue that’s good and bad — but I think that his focus will be about how to get the best out of his best players which he had to do at PSG, he had to do at Tottenham, he had to do at Chelsea and typically that’s been one of the things that he’s done well. He’s gotten really good performances out of his best players and that’s helped his team win matches. It’s yet to be known how it will all turn out but I would be optimistic that he would be able to have a positive impact on the team and on the sport in the country.”
A coach with Pochettino’s credentials will have the chance to raise the stature of the USMNT. The Argentine has been able to improve players at clubs and also manage stars which is a mix that will be needed in international management. Expectations will be high ahead of a 2026 World Cup on home soil but there’s no reason why Pochettino can’t reach them. The flexibility that Marsch praised is an area that former coach Gregg Berhalter lacked in the past so it will be exciting to see how things can change under Pochettino.
Marsch also spoke about how the players were ready for a change because of needing a challenge which Berhalter didn’t provide in his second spell in charge, crashing out in the Copa America.
“This sport and this world that you play in has to be about constantly being challenged to be your best. Period. Right? I don’t care like who the coach is and, and there shouldn’t be a comfortability,” Marsch said. “There should always be a drive to be better. And yeah, it’s fun to be on teams, right? You want the process of growth and improvement to be an enjoyable one, but it has to be about demands, right? And this life should never be about complacency, right? If you want to be a good professional coach, a good professional player, a good professional team, this has to be about the drive and the obsession to be your best and the only way to do that is to constantly be challenged and to be put over your head, To be asked more, to have higher standards, higher demands, right? So I don’t care if it’s the U.S. team or it’s any team. That’s that’s what professional football is.”
Those demands are an area where Pochettino will help if he takes over. He’s a manager who expects the best from his players each week and won’t hesitate to drop anyone if they’re not adhering to his instructions. During Copa America, it felt like members of the USMNT were too comfortable in their roles, the team lacked cohesion, and that’s something that could be coming to an end as Pochettino has continued to prove he can get players to play to his style and exceed their potential.
