"Why not?" That's Mauricio Pochettino's answer when asked if the United States can win the 2026 World Cup on home soil. Easy to say. Harder to believe when your star man hasn't scored all year and your last two friendlies ended in defeat.
The USMNT head coach appeared on The Overlap podcast Thursday and covered a lot of ground — from Christian Pulisic's dry spell, to America's structural problem developing elite soccer, to watching his former club Tottenham slide toward the Championship. None of it was particularly comfortable listening.
The Pulisic problem and a squad still finding its edge
Pulisic is yet to score in 2026. The USMNT have lost back-to-back friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. Pochettino is quick to downplay the losses — calling them "non-official games" — but the pattern is harder to wave away when you're three months out from a World Cup you automatically qualified for without a single meaningful match.
That automatic qualification as co-hosts is both a privilege and a trap. No pressure games. No knockout jeopardy. No real test of whether this group can perform when it actually matters. "We knew it would be a problem," Pochettino admitted. "We are fighting to change that mindset."
Whether they've changed it by June is the question every punter pricing USMNT tournament odds should be sitting with. A host nation that hasn't been tested is a notoriously tricky betting proposition — the crowd lift is real, but so is the inexperience of big moments.
Why America still hasn't found its Messi
Pochettino was characteristically direct on the deeper issue. American kids don't develop an emotional relationship with soccer until they're 11 or 12. In Argentina, he says, it starts before you can walk. The sport is locked behind private school systems and competes with basketball and American football for the best athletes.
"The ball teaches you, not the coach," he said. "It's about creating more spaces for kids to go and play." He acknowledged the women's game has outpaced the men's domestically — the USWNT's sustained dominance backs that up — and framed it as both an indictment and a proof of concept.
- USMNT have lost their last two friendlies, against Belgium and Portugal
- Christian Pulisic has yet to score in 2026
- The U.S. automatically qualified as World Cup co-hosts, skipping the qualifying process entirely
- Pochettino says emotional connection to the game starts too late for American kids compared to South American countries
On Tottenham, Pochettino dropped the tactical framing and just said what he felt. "It is really sad. I really love Tottenham." They're sitting in the relegation zone with four games left and a two-point gap to safety. A club he took to a Champions League final in 2019 is now scrapping to stay in the top flight.
He pointed to a period of 18 months without a single signing during his tenure — a Premier League record — and named Sadio Mané and Georginio Wijnaldum as players they tried and failed to bring in. "The assessment was coming from outside the club not inside — people start to intoxicate things." That's about as pointed as a former manager gets without naming names.
As for England, he wants back in. "I think my human profile and coach profile match very well with the Premier League." That's a future story. Right now, he has a World Cup to prepare for — with a squad that's still searching for its belief and a talisman who can't find the net.
