World Cup

Despite the women seeing many World Cup and Olympic successes, the United States men’s national team has been pretty poor for as long as time itself. However, recently, there has been a surge of hope within this team to possibly see some success in the 2026 World Cup, which will be hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada. So, how has a team that has not seen much success on the international stage throughout its history given hope to many that the tide could be turning?

To understand the national team as we know it today, we must rewind to October 10, 2017, a day that will forever haunt American soccer fans. The USA played Trinidad & Tobago in Couva. All the USA needed to do was win, and they would have qualified for the 2018 World Cup. The game finished 2-1 to Trinidad, and the USA failed to qualify for the World Cup since 1986, a new historic low in the team’s history. 

This event forced major changes to be made within the US soccer federation. Going after dual nationals (players eligible to play for the USA as well as for other countries) was made a priority, aging veterans were removed from the program for a new young generation, and manager at the time, Bruce Arena, was fired. In 2018, the keys to this new generation were handed to Gregg Berhalter, the then highly regarded manager of the Columbus Crew in the MLS.  

Under Berhalter, the USA reigned supreme in CONCACAF (the North American soccer federation), winning two continental championships: The Nations League and the Gold Cup, both in 2021. Later that year, the USA also secured qualification to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. This was big after the failures of the previous qualification cycle and would be Berhalter’s first real test as manager. They reached the Round of 16, where his team suffered defeat at the hand of the Netherlands. 

Simultaneously, Berhalter had also been building a roster of very exciting young players who were playing for Europe's top clubs. These included Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Folarin Balogun, Sergiño Dest, and Antonee Robinson, just to name a few. However, despite reaching the knockout stage of the World Cup, winning regional trophies and reshaping the team, many fans wanted Berhalter gone. His play style was bland, he always picked his favorites, and it felt as though he was holding this team back and not letting these young players reach their full potential. 

After the 2022 World Cup, Berhalter’s contract expired on December 31, 2022, and the federation let him walk. The US soccer federation conducted a long, detailed search for a replacement. On June 16, 2023, the federation re-hired Gregg Berhalter to lead the team through to the 2026 World Cup. At this time, the US was invited to compete and host the 2024 edition of Copa America (the South American tournament), which would give them a slate of competitive games against top competition prior to the 2026 World Cup.

After the re-hiring of Berhalter, there was a lot of resentment among Americans, and he was made the scapegoat if anything went wrong. He had a chance to change that narrative when Copa America rolled around in the summer of 2024. The Stars and Stripes won their first game 2-0 against Bolivia, but it all went downhill from there. Losing to both Panama and Uruguay, the USA was eliminated in humiliating fashion in the Group Stages. A week later the federation decided they had enough of Gregg Berhalter once and for all and decided to fire him,which was music to American ears. 

Then the extensive search began for a new American head coach. The US Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker said he was targeting a “serial winner” for the head coaching role. Candidates ranged from legendary former Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp (who quickly said no) to Steve Cherundolo of LAFC in the MLS. On the 10th of September 2024, the federation had come to its decision to hire the Aargentinian Mauricio Pochettino as their next manager, to lead them through 2026. 

Pochettino is exactly the guy the United States needed to compete. A world class manager, who has experience managing some of the top teams and very best players in the world. He had success at some of Europe's finest clubs, such as Tottenneham, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain. Some of the top players he managed include Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi.

Despite Mauricio Pochettino’s questionable reputation in big matches, Americans are excited, and have every right to be. After the failures of Copa America, the team needed a manager who could develop these young talented players into world class superstars and have the USA challenge top teams in the world. Mauricio Pochettino is that guy, and with him at the helm, I believe this team can go far in 2026.