"They are ahead of us, of the men, in America. And they are ahead of the world." Mauricio Pochettino didn't hedge it or soften it — that's exactly how he sees the gap between the two national teams he's sharing a country with.
Speaking on "The Overlap" podcast alongside Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright, and Jill Scott, the USMNT head coach was candid about where the women's program sits relative to the men's. Emma Hayes, he said, is doing a "fantastic job" — and the trophy cabinet backs that up entirely. Four Women's World Cups. Five Olympic gold medals. Nine Concacaf W Championship titles from ten appearances. The USWNT isn't just a benchmark for the men's side; they're the benchmark for the sport.
Why the US still hasn't produced a Messi
Pochettino's diagnosis of the men's problem is structural, not tactical. The issue isn't the coaching or even the talent pool — it's when American kids form their emotional bond with the game.
"The key is the emotional relationship with the game, that kids in America still don't develop until they are 11, 12, or 13," he said. In Argentina, where Pochettino grew up, that relationship starts before a child can walk. In the US, the first ball most kids pick up goes in their hands, not at their feet. Basketball. American football. The neural wiring runs a different direction.
He recalled a dinner conversation that cuts to the heart of it: "People asked me, 'if the population is 300 million, why have we never had a Messi?'" It's a fair question, and Pochettino's honest enough to admit there's no fast answer.
What this means heading into 2026
The pressure on Pochettino's side is real. The US co-hosts the 2026 World Cup, and the country's only quarterfinal appearance came in 2002. In 1994 — the last time the tournament was on home soil — they went out in the round of 16. Same story in their most recent appearances. History suggests modest expectations are warranted; the occasion demands something more.
Pochettino knows investment and long-term strategy are the only routes to closing the gap. "Important people in soccer are conscious they need to invest," he said. That's a polite way of saying it hasn't happened consistently enough, and everyone in the room knows it.
Those betting on the USMNT to make a deep run at their home World Cup are essentially pricing in a development curve that hasn't fully arrived yet. Pochettino is building something — but the women already built it, and they've held it for decades.
