'why Not Us?' How Mauricio Pochettino Taught The U.s. To Believe It Could Win A World Cup

A vessel of lemons sits connected a array successful nan convention room Mauricio Pochettino has turned into an agency astatine nan U.S. men’s shot team’s beachfront edifice successful southbound Orange County. The citrus fruit, nan coach believes, has nan belief expertise to sorb antagonistic energy. On nan area of different table, nan occurrence from a candle flickers.

“I for illustration candles,” says Pochettino, who believes they merchandise therapeutic fragrances and create a calming environment.

But it is nan massive, blood-red mural covering nan full southbound broadside of nan room that genuinely reveals what Pochettino believes. In nan halfway of nan wall, conscionable down nan coach’s desk, achromatic artifact letters spell retired “Why Not” supra a book “U.S.,” which, contempt nan periods, is meant to beryllium publication arsenic “us.”

Pochettino has turned nan mobility successful a mantra for a World Cup squad that has answered it pinch 2 wins successful arsenic galore games and has a chance to triumph a 3rd lucifer successful nan tourney for nan first clip erstwhile it meets Turkey astatine SoFi Stadium connected Thursday.

The thought came to him during a squad gathering past November erstwhile he sensed his players had doubts astir their upcoming World Cup run. So Pochettino turned those doubts into a question. If South Korea could travel from obscurity and make nan semifinals of nan 2002 World Cup, and if Morocco could do nan aforesaid 4 years agone successful Qatar, why not nan U.S.?

Why not us?

“Hey, travel on, guys, are you listening to me?” Pochettino said he asked nan group. “We request to believe.”

Before he could person his players, however, he had to person himself. And that mightiness person been nan hardest part.

The 54-year-old Pochettino is simply a benevolent Svengali pinch a whistle; Ted Lasso pinch an Argentine accent. Belief isn’t truthful overmuch a conception for him arsenic it is simply a measurement of life. But erstwhile he and his coaching unit took complete nan U.S. squad successful nan autumn of 2024, pursuing its disastrous capacity successful nan Copa América, he said he inherited a demoralized, dispirited group.

“We received a large bang,” Pochettino said, mimicking a punch to nan face. “We were knock[ed] retired for a while.”

“We were truthful naive,” he continued. “The business was measurement worse than we really believed.”

Pochettino refused to alteration nan strategy that has brought him occurrence astatine European clubs Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. So he group retired to alteration nan players instead. That would return time, thing he had very small of since he took complete pinch nan World Cup conscionable 20 months away.

“It’s difficult to analyse nan process, you know,” Pochettino said during an informal, 40-minute chat astatine his team’s Dana Point hotel, nan sun mounting complete nan water done nan unfastened patio doors of his office.

“When you put nan seed connected nan soil, [the] first seed, you don’t spot nothing. Then you commencement to turn nan tree. It was difficult to explicate nan works because it’s not easy.”

The seed Pochettino planted pinch nan nationalist squad took clip to sprout. He mislaid 5 of his first 10 games, including a disastrous four-game agelong that included Nations League losses to Panama and Canada successful nan outpouring of 2025. The team’s supporters revolted, but Pochettino rejoiced.

“What happened, that was [a] bully crash,” he said. “When we observe each nan problems, we spell for nan solution. And we knew that nan solution will arrive. The entity is to situation people.”

U.S. men’s shot coach Mauricio Pochettino during nan 2nd half of his team’s World Cup lucifer vs. Paraguay astatine SoFi Stadium.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

So he stayed nan course.

“That was nan process. Now is not a coincidence,” he said of nan team’s success.

Pochettino has agelong believed that building a roster isn’t astir picking nan champion players, but picking nan correct players. Players who fresh his tactical approach, players who get on pinch 1 another, players who lend to nan squad chemistry.

For him, nan quality connection, quality respect is arsenic important — if not more important — than nan expertise to dribble done tight spaces. And those traits are peculiarly important successful a World Cup since nan squad will walk each time together for six weeks aliases more.

Although Pochettino’s squad includes 13 holdovers from nan 2022 World Cup roster, it besides includes 5 players who made their nationalist squad debuts successful nan past 18 months.

Sometimes, he concluded, it is easier to simply alteration nan subordinate than it is to alteration what nan subordinate thinks aliases believes. And nan newbies person wholly bought in.

“We’re each successful full belief. We’re each wholly supportive and person religion successful nan process that he’s been outlining,” said goalkeeper Matt Freese, who made his first quality for nan nationalist squad much than 12 months agone and now is starting successful a World Cup. “Our task was to support believing, support moving difficult and support trusting. And we did that. We afloat bought into nan process.”

That process has made Pochettino nan first U.S. coach to triumph a group shape successful 16 years while his 2 victories successful arsenic galore games lucifer Bruce Arena, nan astir successful World Cup coach successful U.S. history, who managed 8 games complete 2 tournaments.

The lemons and candles Pochettino keeps successful his agency are manifestations of energia universal aliases cosmopolitan energy, a foundational conception communal to galore Eastern philosophies that judge a basal life unit connects each things. Pochettino said he has agelong felt this relationship and it has been a foundational portion of his coaching.

But it doesn’t extremity pinch nan candles and citrus fruit. Pochettino besides has filled nan mural down his table pinch inspirational sayings.

“The talent has brought america here, but it is heart, effort and unity that will make america unforgettable,” one reads.

“If I dream of rubbing nan moon, possibly I tin get adjacent to it. If I only dream of getting close, I’ll enactment connected Earth,” different says.

Each ends pinch nan coach’s initials, akin to nan measurement a creator signs his portraits.

Pochettino’s religion successful nan powerfulness of consequence and candles and his penchant for penning aphorisms hasn’t taken distant from nan ferociousness of his attack to soccer. Many players opportunity nan training sessions nether Pochettino — which are intricate, focused and highly beingness — are often more aggravated than nan games. But astir besides are punctuated pinch laughter.

“Training is still very competitive, it’s very intense,” said midfielder Max Arfsten, who made his nationalist squad debut nether Pochettino past year. “That’s nan civilization that nan coaches created. Everyone’s still trying to beryllium something.”

Although Pochettino has spent his life successful Argentina and Europe and still splits his clip betwixt houses successful Barcelona and London, flying to nan U.S. for matches and training camps, he’s been a speedy study successful this country’s civilization and quirks.

“One of nan things that we really like, and we study from you, is successful nan measurement that you attack life. It’s much casual than formal,” said nan coach, whose English is still a activity successful progress. “People are very approachable and make you consciousness comfortable. That, for me, was a monolithic surprise. You ever want to invited people.

“Even nan music, moreover nan food. People opportunity ‘no, Americans person crazy food.’ Yes, you person crazy food. But besides you person Whole Foods. In Europe, you don’t person a Whole Foods.”

And Pochettino has adopted it all. He’s go a large instrumentality of state creator Lainey Wilson, went to perceive Teddy Swims, a uniquely American genre-blending singer, past wintertime successful New York, and is learning nan words to John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” nan unofficial triumph anthem of nan World Cup team.

Perhaps much important, astatine times he’s taken his lemons and his candles and pushed them aside, replacing them pinch different distinctly American trait: nan in-your-face assurance to will yourself to triumph from nan astir hopeless situations.

It’s really Americans won astatine Valley Forge moreover earlier they were Americans and really they won connected nan beaches of Normandy erstwhile nan conception of America was threatened. It’s really Americans went to nan satellite and invented nan internet.

And it’s really Pochettino’s squad has remained cleanable 2 games into nan World Cup.

“We’re American. We don’t return s—,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said Pochettino told nan squad during 1 meeting. “Even though he’s Argentinian, he has that mindset of, ‘Look, this is what we do. This is who we are. This is what America’s about.’ Even from an extracurricular perspective, he showed america Americans what we’re about.

“He really drills that into us.”

For decades Americans person measured World Cup occurrence successful advancing beyond nan group stage. Pochettino entered this summer’s tourney predicting a tally to nan semifinals, runs for illustration South Korea and Morocco made.

“When group judge successful each other, intolerable dreams go possible,” sounds different connection nan coach has scratched onto nan wall of his office.

Why not us?