Team USA is gearing up for their first knockout game on Wednesday versus Bosnia-Herzegovina. Before their final group match, the elders who run Team USA offered Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino a contract extension.
With Canada already advancing to the Round of 16 after their late win over Egypt on Sunday, the Round of 32 is in full swing, with three more games on Monday. Team USA still has two days before they hope to join their co-hosts. It won’t be a cakewalk, but for the path ahead for the American squad, this is a fine tune-up for the onslaught ahead.
At least, let’s hope that’s the case.
It’s hard to gauge how talented Team USA is on the World Cup stage. Yet they have momentum, they handily won Group D, and they have the support of every American soccer fan.
Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino is the start of the US Squad. Despite numerous injuries, skepticism among the United States press, and a poor lead-up to their friendly games, nobody had any idea about this roster.
Yet, Pochettino did, and he took notice of the media, rather sharply, saying that their last group loss didn’t mean anything and that advancing is all that matters. How you do it, he stated, is meaningless.
To his credit, he saw something in this group that no one else did. He talked about how his team could shock the soccer world and flip the script on Team USA’s chances of achieving its own miracle in July.
Taking a cue from the Miracle on Ice run in 1980, when Team USA defeated the Soviets at the Lake Placid Olympics. It changed hockey forever, and Pochettino believes that can happen again in 2026.
Apparently, so do US Men’s officials, who have offered Pochettino a four-year contract extension through the 2030 World Cup. That stands in sharp contrast to officials who generally take a wait-and-see approach.
However, the way he’s handled this team despite obstacles should signal that, with a deep run in the World Cup, he’ll become a hot commodity in European circles. With foreign players jumping to the MLS, he could be offered a job in the United States.
I’m sure he’s not in a hurry to sign his extension, and he’ll weigh all options ahead of time, but I applaud officials who took a proactive approach to securing the future of Team USA.
To date, they’ve been a reactionary group, and even they must be surprised that this team has come together so quickly and that the narrative that this team will self-destruct under the pressure of the World Cup has persisted.
Team USA has expectations, and that hasn’t happened since the 1990s. How they navigate a country that is crazy about this team and is celebrating its 250th anniversary will tell you everything about these men, who have bought into their coach’s direction.
Changing a narrative in sports remains one of the hardest lessons fans endure. Look at the New York Knicks, who spent five decades between championships. The Kansas City Chiefs did the same, ending that futility after winning Super Bowl IV and Super Bowl LIV.
In 1930, Team USA reached the semifinals, losing to Argentina 6-1. Decades later, in 2002, they reached the quarterfinals, losing to Germany 1-0 in a heartbreaking defeat.
What happens starting Wednesday should serve as a tone-setter for Team USA and its Head Coach. Either way, for the first time in recent memory, Pochettino has put soccer back on the world map.
If he succeeds, he should be rewarded.
