The day after a four-year extension for Mauricio Pochettino became official, U.S. Soccer announced the first four friendlies of the men’s national team’s 2030 World Cup cycle. All four are on U.S. soil during the new, extended FIFA window spanning late September and early October.
With Pochettino’s first full World Cup cycle awaiting, here’s a list of top priorities for the manager.
1. Hold an extended audition for young talent
It’s no surprise there’s already been much discussion of the USMNT’s need to introduce high-potential to the senior team. Pochettino clearly understands the importance of doing just that. In a video shared by U.S. Soccer, he noted that in addition to the players he’s called up so far, “also we are seeing that start to appear new talented players, 16, 17, 18, 19 year old, young kids that with the possibility and potential to be important players in the next World Cup, and I think what we are seeing is an amazing, amazing potential.”
Why is bringing along the next generation so crucial? Most of the core of the USMNT that crumbled in the Round of 16 against Belgium – already injury prone – will be on the wrong side of 30 by the next World Cup. Tyler Adams will be 31. Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie will be 32 not long after the tournament, while Antonee Robinson turns 33 that August. Beating a historically superior soccer nation and matching the quarterfinal finish of 2002 remains the USMNT’s threshold for success, and building a team with the quality and cohesion capable of that requires a substantially more forward-thinking selection strategy.
There is no excuse to delay introducing the next generation, with World Cup qualifying not beginning until next fall.
