MARIETTA, Ga. — If there was any festering anguish over the U.S.’s weekend performance against Belgium or overwhelming dread about Tuesday’s tall task against Portugal, Mauricio Pochettino was not showing it Monday.
The Argentine-born coach’s news conference was a tour de force — charming, entertaining, passionate and insightful, ricocheting from injuries and glaring deficiencies, to philosophical thoughts on leadership and intensity, to his U.S. future after this summer’s World Cup.
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That last topic perhaps stood out the most, because, since accepting the U.S. job 18 months ago, Pochettino has been regularly linked to openings at famous European clubs. He also left open the possibility of remaining with the U.S. after his program-record $6 million a year contract expires after the World Cup.
“I think everyone knows I am committed [to] the national team here” for the World Cup, the Argentine said. There is “no point to talk about the future at the moment, but no one approached. Who knows what is going to happen? We are open. We don’t have a [U.S.] contract for the future. But why not, if we are happy and the [U.S. Soccer] Federation is happy? It’s about [finding out]. Most important now is to be focusing on tomorrow and on the World Cup, and focusing to improve the team.”
Asked about possibly continuing with the U.S., he said, “Never say never. Everything can happen. I don’t know. I am very happy here and, of course, it’s a massive challenge. It’s a bigger challenge than we really thought before [he] started here, for different reasons. … We love this type of challenge. It’s never easy when you want to change things or [there are] things you need to change.”
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In January, USSF sporting director Matt Crocker told Yahoo Sports, “Everybody knows Mauricio’s contract ends after the World Cup. That was by design, partly because we had to see how this went. It’s all part of the master plan. … It’s one of those things we can’t [muddy] the waters with. He’s got to focus 100 percent on his efforts for the World Cup, and then we’ll address it after that.”
The World Cup’s imminence has not stopped speculation abroad that Pochettino is targeted by clubs such as Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, the London side he guided for 5½ years, highlighted by an appearance in the 2019 Champions League final.
“Of course, the rumors are there,” he said, “but that is our business.”
Asked whether he thinks struggling Tottenham will be relegated out of the Premier League, Pochettino called his time there “one of the best experiences in my life. … This is a club that I really care [about], and for sure, I really trust they are going to stay in the league.”
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Whether Tottenham or any other club is interested, Pochettino’s star is not exactly soaring at the moment after the 5-2 loss to Belgium — an alarming result 2½ months before the Group D opener against Paraguay.
Reflecting on the smackdown, Pochettino said, “We did better than what the results say. That is the truth. You know I’m very critical when we are no good. But in that case, when you watch and watch and watch … it’s a massive punishment, five goals.”
Indeed, his team was superior much of the first half and took the lead before conceding the equalizer just before intermission.
When Weston McKennie scored, Pochettino did not react on the sideline because it should have been “the third goal, not the first goal,” he said.
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The second half began poorly and didn’t get better until the dying moments, when Patrick Agyemang scored a consolation goal.
USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino reflected Monday on his team’s glaring deficiencies and addressed the rumors about his future, leaving open the possibility of staying past the World Cup.
(Omar Vega via Getty Images)
Pochettino’s demand for World Cup-level intensity
On Monday, Pochettino addressed the importance of maintaining intensity from start to finish.
“If you watch the game [Saturday between] France and Colombia, that is intensity,” he said. “You can win or lose. You think the coach of Colombia losing the game [3-1] is going to complain about his players? They play like this was the final of the World Cup. And France, when they saw the intensity and the aggression of Colombia, they said, ‘If we aren’t as intense, they will kill us.’”
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He continued, “Do you think [the coaches] told the players, ‘We need to be intense?’ Or do you see some punch, kill, boom? If you tell me we were the same, I would say, ‘Okay.’ Were we the same?”
He paused, then, while pounding the table several times with emotion but not anger, said, “It is to feel we are playing in the World Cup. … If you don’t have aggression and intensity and everything, you can’t play [successfully in the World Cup]. … I am so happy what happened [Saturday] because there is still time to realize we need to compete.”
There is also time to realize such defensive efforts will not suffice at the World Cup.
Tuesday’s match will require “better balance” because, on Saturday, “we were much better in the offensive phase than the defensive phase,” Pochettino said. “Portugal is similar in quality. … It’s good to play against another team that is going to be very efficient” and, if the U.S. stumbles again, will inflict punishment.
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Though he has seemed pleased with players showing leadership, Pochettino had something to say about that facet of sports, too.
“Leadership is a thing you cannot buy in the supermarket,” he said. “Leadership you cannot go to the university and say, ‘I’m going to be the leader that people expect.’ No. That is about your character and capacity. … Leadership is not to score three goals or to save three penalty [kicks]. It is more than that. It’s to [create] cohesion. It’s to provide the tools to the group, to find the dynamic, to be alive, to feel the energy, to create energy, to always think for the rest of the group.”
The leaders include center back Chris Richards, a vital defensive figure who, after missing Saturday’s match with a knee ailment, said he will be available Tuesday. However, center back Miles Robinson (groin) will remain out and midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who played the first half Saturday, has rejoined Atlético Madrid to rehab a leg injury.
“There’s a lot of disappointment, but you have another game right away that you can go and try to put things right and start to build that momentum,” defender Tim Ream said. “We weren’t getting ahead of ourselves when we had a good fall last year and we’re not going to fall back and be all doom and gloom because of one result again.”
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On other topics …
Though he is expected to start Matt Freese in goal Tuesday, Pochettino said the starting job remains an “open competition.” On Saturday, Matt Turner, the 2022 starter, was in the lineup for the first time since last June.
Hours before U.S.-Portugal kickoff, Türkiye will visit Kosovo in a World Cup qualifying playoff that will fill the last slot in the U.S. group this summer.
Asked if he planned to watch, Pochettino said, “The wifi in the dressing room in Atlanta is working well and we can watch.”
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