Winning fosters USMNT belief at a time when fans need a team they can trust
AUSTIN, Texas — The U.S. men's national team is just a few weeks removed from the bitterness of two friendly defeats, the second of which was particularly ugly. Not nearly enough time has passed to have forgotten completely the feeling those results wrought on the group.
That made it easier for Mauricio Pochettino to deliver his postgame message after the U.S. gutted out a not-so-perfect 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia on Thursday night to secure a spot in the Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals.
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'Enjoy that feeling,' Pochettino told the group. 'Understand what that feeling is like and what you just had to do, all that emotion you put out on the field, because it doesn't come easy. So you know what you have to do now. You need to continue to do and replicate that.'
It is one thing to believe that you have a process and that the process is working. It is harder to transmit that belief when the results are not going your way. That's why the one-goal victory over Saudi Arabia was so important, even if it wasn't pretty. The U.S. has now won back-to-back games. The confidence and belief in the group grows a bit more as a result. And Pochettino's message resonates more, too.
'One of the important things to survive in this business … is to see things that maybe sometimes people cannot see,' Pochettino said. 'And I think our point is not the knowledge about the game, is not about in the way that we want to approach the game, if we use different systems or not. It is to anticipate situations that people sometimes, like in all the business [don't have] the possibility to see. That's important. When everyone wants to destroy everything, sometimes you say, 'No, we are [OK.]' Because it's difficult to defend when you don't win. It's difficult to say, 'No, but we are in a good way.' …
'I think [those bad results are part of] a process that is going to provide us the possibility to be more solid and bring the victories that we want.'
Pochettino clearly came into this summer with ideas he wanted to transmit through his decisions — on whom to bring, on what to say publicly, on how the team sets up and who is starting. The results didn't happen right away. Pochettino said he was calm. He told the group to keep trusting.
So Gold Cup wins over Trinidad and Tobago and Saudi Arabia matter. Not because of the quality of the opponent or even the level of the team. But because results are what help foster buy-in.
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'We lost two games, and then we lost another two games after. I was really, really relaxed. And you can ask the players after Switzerland, [I was] saying, 'Hey, look guys, relax. Now it's time to rest. Is to analyze the situation.' And sometimes you need to be honest. And I think it was my mistake or our mistake, and [so I said], 'Hey, calm, we are going to prepare, and for sure, we are going to arrive in a very good condition.' And maybe these few words … when you tell [players] something and that [happens], then that is going to be a very good group, very united and [they are going to] trust each other and go and fight. Because we know that we are all [in it] together.'
Pochettino said his staff can sense it coming together. They can 'smell it,' he said.
They have to hope that the positivity continues to permeate, because it was clear in Austin that the apathy around this program is very real. The results haven't been good, and the vibes have been worse. Attendance at Q2 Stadium was just 11,727. That follows just 12,610 in San Jose, Calif., on Sunday against T&T. The optics probably won't be any better vs. Haiti this Sunday at the cavernous AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Fans are opting out of paying high ticket prices to watch a team that hasn't been performing, which should be a glaring signal for U.S. Soccer. There is less than a year until the 2026 World Cup begins. The priority needs to be on getting full stadiums and generating momentum around the team. It puts enormous pressure on U.S. Soccer to set its ticket prices appropriately for its slate of friendlies in September, October, November, March and next June.
Price points haven't been the only issue, though. The U.S. men need to get people to start believing that they're worth coming out to watch.
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There wasn't a ton on Thursday that fulfilled that narrative. The Americans had the ball for most of the game, generating 67 percent possession and 469 passes. And yet they mustered just five shots and 0.70 expected goals.
It was an imperfect performance. But Pochettino is more worried about finding the moments he can pull from the game that underline his message.
It was Chris Richards sprinting back and sliding to block a shot on a clear Saudi transition attack that could have led to a goal. It was Sebastian Berhalter mixing it up with the Saudi team. Most importantly, it was the final scoreline.
The simplest way to relay what Pochettino said is this: In this business, it's the results that matter. That's it. And that's what the U.S. has been lacking over the last 18 months. They need to start winning games. The style points are just a bonus.
This U.S. group has holes. Of course it does. We know about the guys missing from this tournament. We know about the weaknesses that exist even when many of those players are present. That was on display against Panama in the Nations League in March.
With time ticking down toward the summer of 2026, it's about finding the right mentality and the right combinations and the right belief to start winning again.
Pochettino was asked about that goal – about how to coach it into a team.
'It's the hardest part of coaching, it is difficult because it takes time, because it's a process,' Pochettino said. 'Coaching the offensive, defensive, tactical, and game aspects is something any coach or every coach has sufficient knowledge to do. After that, it's the values you transmit as a coaching staff. Not just me, but my entire coaching staff. That's what we want to create, that environment or that relationship that has to exist. The habits. The habits we think should exist in a team that wants to compete for big things, which have to be fundamental. … Culture is created through the habits you have. Culture isn't created by talking, culture isn't created by giving theoretical lessons, it's created with decisions, with actions. We often talk now with the players, about not talking on the field, but rather speaking with actions, because we can all communicate well, and all of us in a football environment have that ability to communicate. …
'It can be very nice to say things, but then you have to translate it onto the field. … That's what truly dictates what we are. And that requires, as I was saying before, actions. Creating good habits, the habits that we think are fundamental to being competitive in any team. Because otherwise we would be a group of players who don't come together. We wouldn't be a team. We would be a group of players who play together, and nothing more. And to achieve a team, you need a foundation of values that we all agree to respect and follow.'
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Pochettino was then asked whether his team was there yet.
'We are currently under construction,' he said.
The 1-0 win over Saudi Arabia showed that. It was far from perfect. But it was a win. For a group that's trying to become a team and craft its values, finding a way to get the three points was important.
The hope is that it now builds a little bit more. For the players in the locker room, for the players watching at home and for the fans who want to know whether they can start to believe again that this group of players can be the team they want it to be.
It will take a lot more — and there will most definitely be more setbacks. For now, this U.S. group will have to settle for a slight spark of belief that this can get back on track.
'It's just that,' midfielder Tyler Adams said. 'It's belief.'
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