After finally being announced as the new manager of the United States men’s national team, Mauricio Pochettino will have a mountain of work ahead of him to get this group of players into a place where they can advance past the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. It has been a disappointing few months seeing the USMNT allow five goals to Colombia, crash out of the Copa America during the group stage, and lose a home tie to Canada for the first time in since 1957. It was clear that a new voice was needed in moving on from Gregg Berhlater, but what can the Argentine change around the national team to get this going in the right direction?
Pochettino will be able to push the player pool while trying to fix some of the current mentality issues that are holding the USMNT back from being consistent performers, but other things will be out of his control. Core members of the squad like Gio Reyna and Weston McKennie aren’t regulars at their clubs and a change of a national team coach won’t change that. Pochettino will also be hampered by the general lack of depth in the player pool but that doesn’t mean there aren’t things which the Argentine can address right out of the gate. Let’s take a look at some of those:
Figure out his number one goalkeeper
This is an issue that may already be moving in the right direction for the USMNT. Against Canada, Matt Turner was dropped in favor of Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte. Putting in a strong performance in that match, Schulte is beginning to show that he’s ready for the step up from the U-23s to the senior national team. Of course, it’s something that takes more than one performance to prove that he’s ready but with Turner not playing for Crystal Palace and Ethan Horvath not impressing at Cardiff City, a change needs to be made.
Schulte is a keeper who could soon be in Europe himself but he’s getting plenty of experience playing in high level games with the Crew. He’s led them to an MLS Cup title and a Leagues Cup title but he’s not done collecting honors yet while becoming one of the best keepers that MLS has to offer. Playing time and rhythm are critical between the sticks and once the defense knows who will be in front of them, it makes their job easier as well.
Defensive rotations will be key
Speaking of the defense, Chris Richards has emerged as the top center back on the roster while Antonee Robinson has become the top left back but every remaining position is up for grabs. Sergino Dest was close to making the right back spot his own and still could, but after suffering an ACL injury, he’ll have to get back to top form before the USMNT can count on him. Tyler Adams is an example of how sometimes players aren’t the same after serious injuries so it’s important for them to get ample time to get back to being at their best. Joe Scally was the starting right back during Copa America but he hasn’t done enough to become an unquestioned starter in the role.
Where things get concerning is at center back. Since 2022, the primary starter at the left center back role has been 36-year-old Tim Ream. Now playing his club soccer for Charlotte FC, it’s unknown if Ream will even be in the national team picture in 2026 but the USMNT haven’t done enough to figure out who the third center back is in the rotation. Mark McKenzie, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Auston Trusty are all options but Pochettino will need to figure out the best pairing on the ball that can make his system tick.
Who is the leader on the pitch?
The mentality issues with the USMNT have been well documented lately and while some of those require the coach to hold the players accountable, the players also need to be able to pull themselves out of ruts on the pitch. That was part of what Adams did so well for the national team but not knowing if he’ll be able to get back to being an unquestioned starter at the base of the midfield, somebody else must step up. Christian Pulisic is someone who leads by example but he isn’t the most vocal member of the squad. Pochettino will need to figure out who can be the extension for his instructions on the pitch after he’s gotten to know the player pool. It’s something where Jesse Marsch spoke about how he challenged Alphonso Davies to step up with the Canadian national team setup and if a player can make that kind of step forward for the USMNT under Pochettino, it can be quite a boon for them moving forward.
