Mauricio Pochettino will be the guy leading Team USA soccer for the foreseeable future.
The 54-year-old Argentinean signed a contract extension that will ensure he’ll the man once again leading Team USA during the 2030 World Cup. Team USA had a productive showing during the 2026 World Cup, advancing to the Round of 16. The result combined with the fact that the United States was hosting the tournament for the first time since 1994 had fans and the media talking about soccer nonstop during the month it took place in June and July.
Toby Alderweireld, who played for Pochettino when the two were with the Premier League’s Tottenham Hotspurs between 2015 and 2019, gave major props to his former coach for the job he did at the World Cup. But he was realistic in saying that Team USA will never win the World Cup when considering the level of competition that goes on.
While speaking to Heavy — on behalf of Hajper — for a one-on-one interview, Alderweireld detailed why there’s a ceiling for Team USA and if Pochettino is the right fit for this team.
“I think he did very well because if you see the squad, it’s not that good,” said Alderweireld in a one-on-one interview. “You have to be honest, they have some good players, but it’s not like they’re going to win the World Cup. I know that’s the American way to say that we’re going to get the final and win everything, but if you purely see the squad and the quality that they had, I think they did well. They did the maximum that they could.”
Why Toby Alderweireld Has Confidence in Mauricio Pochettino as Team USA Head Coach
Alderweireld said that Pochettino is the “man” to help lead Team USA to bigger and better things but they need new talent to help get them to that level. It became clear that once Team USA lost to Belgium 4-1 in the Round of 16 that they were on a level below that of Belgium and the superpowers such as Spain, Argentina and France.
“Maybe if there are new talents coming through with new qualities, because American football is now getting better and better even before the World Cup with all the money that has been spent on the game,” said Alderweireld. “They just need some time and then maybe they can do bigger things together but Mauricio Pochettino is the man to do it. He knows how to build a team and we saw they were aggressive and wanted to attack. The World Cup is just a different challenge, especially in the knock out stages. The one day you’re not really on it, you can go out and that’s what happened to the USA against Belgium.”
Team USA Will Continue to Build Around Mauricio Pochettino and Christian Pulisic
We’ll see what the future holds for Team USA, but it’s clear that they’ll continue building around Pochettino along with Christian Pulisic. Pulisic had a disappointing World Cup run, producing no goals and just one assist. It’s also worth noting he was dealing with nagging injuries, including fracturing his right leg during the loss to Belgium. Pulisic will still be in his prime when the next World Cup takes place in 2030 at 31 years old.
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