When Mauricio Pochettino signed on in Sept. 2024, only 10 international windows — nine regular FIFA dates, plus the 2025 Gold Cup — separated the USMNT from the 2026 World Cup. After each, “Ten Windows” dug into key developments and charted the USMNT’s progress towards the 2026 World Cup. This is (naturally) the final entry in the series.
Results this window:
USA 3, Senegal 2 (Dest 7, Pulisic 20, Balogun 63; Mane 44, 52)
Germany 2, USA 1 (Havertz 5, Sane 57; Robinson 37)
The story this window: USMNT fans have reason to believe. Until Friday, at least, that’s enough.
Mauricio Pochettino has landed the plane. It’s arrived at the gate after some severe turbulence. But days before the start of World Cup 2026, the U.S. men’s national team has arrived where it was always supposed to – feelin’ good about its chances this summer against the best teams in the world.
Before letting ourselves get too excited about the U.S.’s performances against Senegal and Germany, though, it’s worth remembering how bumpy a flight Pochettino’s 20-plus months at the U.S. controls has been.
His second game in charge was a listless dos a cero defeat to Mexico. His first competitive matches, in the 2025 Nations League, were a honeymoon-ending debacle. Switzerland needed less than 40 minutes to humiliate a reserve-team eleven in the single worst USMNT performance in recent memory. Then there was another ugly defeat to South Korea before the U.S.’s turning-point win over Japan last September pulled the team out of its nosedive. Even with its momentum restored entering 2026 the U.S. didn’t inspiring in March losses to Belgium and Portugal.
Fortunately, none of those setbacks nullify the forward strides taken since Pochettino’s halftime overhaul vs. South Korea.
Since that moment the USMNT have deservedly defeated Japan, Australia, Paraguay, Uruguay and Senegal – not just World Cup teams, but World Cup teams with real expectations of making the knockouts. (And particularly in the cases of Japan, Uruguay and Senegal, winning games once they get there.) The draw against Ecuador wasn’t far off from being added to that list. Even the defeats against Belgium and Portugal featured a few genuine bright spots once you looked beyond the scorelines (and second-half performances).
