There was a widespread assumption when Mauricio Pochettino took the reins of the U.S. men’s national team.
The relatively short runway to the 2026 World Cup combined with the Argentine’s career at the highest level of European soccer gave rise to the belief that he would prioritize building on the European-based core from the Gregg Berhalter era. He’d squeeze more out of it. He’d add the seemingly straightforward choices for depth, too, via other players plying their trade in Europe and pushing into the second tier of talent in the pool. And that looked like the plan through October and November, his first two FIFA windows in charge.
And then March happened.
