13 wins, one draw, and 7 defeats—that’s the managerial record Mauricio Pochettino maintains ever since joining the US Men’s National Team last September. Not bad considering the win percentage is around 62%. The stat doesn’t look too bad when presented in comparison with the success percentage other coaches of the USMNT had in the past. Yet in the eyes of many, this number is somewhat hard to accept. So the biggest question would be, what changed?

The U.S. will host the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, and hence a change in their approach is expected. But to be quite specific, the change we’re trying to highlight here happened after the 24-2025 Concacaf Nations League, where they lost to Canada while contesting for the third-place spot. Fast forward to today, here they are securing major wins over the likes of Paraguay, Japan, and Australia.

For a man like Mauricio Pochettino, he prefers his team to learn from their failures. “I think it was a good reality check that put us in a position, in the real situation, to see where this team, this federation, really was,” began the 53-year-old when quizzed by journalist Roberto Abramowitz ahead of the Uruguay clash. “Perhaps for us, after a few months of being in charge, I think it was a good opportunity to hit rock bottom in order to start correcting the things we had to change to get to where we are today.”

In fact, to recall straight after this tournament defeat, they lost two consecutive games during the June window, a 1-2 vs Turkey, and 0-4 against Switzerland, the type of teams you would expect to see in the World Cup. But in the eyes of Pochettino, those painful moments were nothing but a necessity for the team’s growth and also to help him get a grasp of things as a manager.

Let’s put it this way: why not face the worst now so that when the time comes, the USMNT can really show they have learned from their upset? Just like the USMNT, Pochettino insisted teams like Argentina or even England always try to learn from their negatives, rather than pointing fingers of blame at one another and dwelling over them. By accepting the failure, the former PSG boss believes it offers teams an “insight into what was really going on,” something which he desperately needed.

Not surprisingly, considering it also comes from a man who is managing a national team for the first time in his remarkable managerial career. So, with the worst, Mauricio Pochettino had to plan, build, and make decisions in a way that allowed him to withstand all the criticism and everything that came with putting people in uncomfortable situations.

“We have gradually built it up with strength. We have endured a lot of situations that were undeserved, but we understand that this is soccer. No one here holds a grudge against anyone,” added the former Chelsea boss. This change in approach, as Pochettino puts it, is nothing short of “The beginning of how we want to perform.”

Not going to lie, this approach does sound interesting. But where does the team go, considering we are just six and a half months away from the prestigious summer tournament?

Mauricio Pochettino is still not impressed with the USMNT

One solid mentality to have as a manager of a team is to top up with a lot of expectations on their shoulders. But what ingredient does the team still lack according to Mauricio Pochettino in pursuit of the winning recipe? “We still have a lot of growing to do as a team, as a structure,” he added in the same conversation.

Oh, the ‘sky is the limit’ factor, how could one forget that? Clearly, Pochettino wants his team to follow this advice by heart in each game they step onto. “The most important thing is to maintain this ability to fight and compete. This should not be something extraordinary in one game, but rather the hallmark of this national team,” added the USMNT boss.

We couldn’t agree more. One thing is certain now — expect the US Men’s National Team to be full of surprises, as they have evidently found their footing ahead of the 2026 World Cup. How solidly they’ll be able to keep up with this hallmark is something only time will tell.