{"id":465286,"date":"2026-05-29T00:47:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:47:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/465286\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T00:47:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T00:47:13","slug":"pochettino-says-christian-pulisic-is-going-to-score-in-the-world-cup-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/465286\/","title":{"rendered":"Pochettino says Christian Pulisic \u2018is going to score in the World Cup\u2019 | USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Mauricio Pochettino is entering the 2026 World Cup with plenty of confidence in his team\u2019s biggest star, even after last summer\u2019s saga<\/a> that saw Christian Pulisic ask out of national team duty.<\/p>\n

The Milan forward opted out of last summer\u2019s Concacaf Gold Cup as he prioritized entering the 2025-26 season with adequate rest, wanting to avoid burnout for this crucial World Cup<\/a> summer. The star and his international coach then exchanged words through podcasts in the lead-up to the tournament, which saw the US fall in the final against Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was disappointed with him [for missing the Gold Cup],\u201d Pochettino reflected in a discussion with the Guardian and other reporters on Thursday. \u201cI am transparent about that. He was disappointed with our decision not to include him<\/a> in the two friendly games [against Switzerland and Turkey].\u201d<\/p>\n

Memories of that saga have already begun to dissipate, replaced by anxiety over the forward\u2019s career-worst form. The 27-year-old hasn\u2019t scored for his country since November 2024, nor has he for any team since 28 December. And yet, he\u2019s as vital to the USMNT\u2019s hopes of making a deep run this summer as anyone, the long-anointed face of the program positioned front-and-center in pre-tournament marketing.<\/p>\n

On Thursday, Pochettino called Pulisic a \u201cspecial player\u201d, and admitted that among the team\u2019s priorities before the group-stage opener against Paraguay is to recover his confidence.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is going to score in the World Cup,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cI really have trust in that. I have confidence in him, he has very good attitude and commitment, he is trying so hard to get to his best level and I think he will achieve it for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pulisic\u2019s form was one of many topics Pochettino addressed from the new national training center in Fayetteville. As you may imagine, there\u2019s a lot on his mind as he nears his first World Cup as an international manager.<\/p>\n

How to make a midfieldMauricio Pochettino said Malik Tillman could play a deeper role for the US. Photograph: John Dorton\/USSF\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pochettino\u2019s squad surprised many by only carrying four central midfielders among his 26 picks: Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Weston McKennie and Cristian Roldan. When asked about it after Tuesday\u2019s squad reveal event<\/a>, Pochettino listed a handful of players (including Gio Reyna and Sergi\u00f1o Dest) who could factor in the roles despite little to no experience playing in an engine room.<\/p>\n

There are still viable concerns about depth specifically in defensive midfield, with McKennie having played a more advanced role for club and country alike in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we think that the capacity of Malik [Tillman] or Weston going a bit deeper \u2013 we have better possibilities in our buildup and better control and to play much better, to claim the ball easier, to move the ball more quickly and to have this capacity to put the ball in the final third in a better condition,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cWe need to be strong in our defensive side but we also need players in front of our center-backs that have the possibility to play and feel comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Argentinian coach also expanded on a thought he expressed at Tuesday\u2019s roster reveal<\/a>: there may be times where the USMNT doesn\u2019t have a holding midfielder on the pitch.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about having quality players on the squad who know how to play,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need to play another holding midfielder because I think Sebastian, or Cristian \u2013 if we play with one holding midfielder, that is enough. We need to have possession, more possession than the opponent, that is the idea, no?\u201d<\/p>\n

The archetypal American player?The strengths of the US national team have evolved since 2002. Photograph: Shaun Clark\/ISI Photos\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Pochettino\u2019s last World Cup appearance came as a part of Argentina\u2019s squad in 2002 \u2013 the year the United States crystalized an identity first forged a decade earlier. That US group leaned on their athletic prowess and intrinsic determination, being difficult to outmuscle and springing breakneck counterattacks between shifts of low-block defending.<\/p>\n

That identity largely remained over the ensuing 16 years, but the failure to qualify for Russia 2018 put the program on a path to reinvent its approach. Both Pochettino and predecessor Gregg Berhalter have wanted the USMNT to become a possession-dominant outfit, controlling proceedings to a greater extent at the expense of some defensive stability.<\/p>\n

Led by a generation of players with clearer paths to European leagues than ever before, the stock and standard American player has gradually been redefined.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are seeing the real American player right now,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cThe important thing is that now, as a national team, we are competitive and they understand what we expect from them, and our culture and philosophy, and that we\u2019re coming from different countries \u2026 If we want to play all these countries \u2013 Brazil, Argentina \u2013 we need to see that sport in the different way than we do now.\u201d<\/p>\n

It takes time to evolve a country\u2019s approach to the sport, of course, especially when soccer\u2019s place in the national sports landscape is markedly different than more football-rabid nations. Pochettino has previously questioned the US\u2019 \u201cemotional relationship\u201d<\/a> with the sport, and on Thursday, he again emphasized how much the country\u2019s multisport reality affects the growth of soccer.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that [soccer lags behind other sports] already,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cIt was part of our motivation to come, the challenge, to try to help, no? That our vision and way of seeing things was going to help find a good balance and a possibility to compete better. I think it\u2019s growing a lot. When we start to watch the U-20, 19, 17, I think it\u2019s improving a lot here in the US. I think it\u2019s good quality players. The most important thing now, that we were speaking about yesterday, is how we can stay with those players so they keep evolving and they don\u2019t plateau at that level, those players.\u201d<\/p>\n

An aversion to being the \u2018silly guy\u2019Mauricio Pochettino has defended his communication methods with players. Photograph: John Dorton\/ISI Photos\/USSF\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

After Tuesday\u2019s roster reveal, Pochettino confessed that \u201ceven today, I cannot enjoy the 26 guys that are in front of me because I am thinking of players who are out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with a further 48 hours of reflection, Pochettino couldn\u2019t soften how \u201ccruel\u201d the process ultimately had to be.<\/p>\n

\u201cI discovered it last week. It\u2019s so painful, it\u2019s so difficult,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cWhen you are at a club, if you\u2019re not in the squad for tomorrow, you could be on the squad for next week. It\u2019s a possibility. But when you are not on the roster for the World Cup, you have to wait four years more. For me that\u2019s the worst thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pochettino on Tuesday vociferously defended his use of email<\/a> to notify players of their roster cuts, and that continued Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the way that we manage people and players, nobody is going to convince me that the best way to communicate isn\u2019t the way that we [do it],\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cIn the way that we were acting during the past two years with these players, our relationship was building respect.\u201d<\/p>\n

On whether he would have requested an explanation after his omission from Argentina World Cup rosters in 1994 and 1998, Pochettino again said no.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou appear in all the news like the silly guy that\u2019s calling the coach,\u201d he said. \u201cYou would lose all of the respect. In real life, in real football, in the real, competitive game, you cannot show to everyone that you\u2019re the silly guy. People will start to laugh at you, to emphasize it \u2013 because you cried that you didn\u2019t make the roster. People will say \u2018ah, come on, be stronger.\u2019 When you have the opportunity to play, show that you are the best. Fight for your place.\u201d<\/p>\n

A clean slate<\/p>\n

Morale around US fans is at a nadir, largely informed by the calamitous results in March friendlies against Belgium<\/a> and Portugal<\/a>. Asked why US fans should have confidence heading into the World Cup, Pochettino pointed to the quality of those opponents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were playing Portugal and Belgium, two teams that are contenders to win the World Cup. You can lose,\u201d Pochettino said. \u201cI\u2019m optimistic because the World Cup is completely different. [In 2002] we arrived with Argentina after five years with Marcelo Bielsa winning all the games, winning against Germany in Stuttgart, winning against Brazil in S\u00e3o Paulo, winning in Spain against Spain, beating all the countries. And we arrive to the World Cup and ciao \u2013 out. The World Cup is completely different. It\u2019s how you arrive, it\u2019s the mentality, it\u2019s the level at which you arrive at.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Mauricio Pochettino is entering the 2026 World Cup with plenty of confidence in his team\u2019s biggest star, even…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":465287,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,105],"class_list":["post-465286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465286","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=465286"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/465286\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/465287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=465286"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=465286"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=465286"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}