USMNT Have Time To Address Issues Before World Cup, Says Pochettino

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March 14 2026, 05:00 PM

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Mauricio Pochettino remains optimistic about the United States' prospects for the 2026 World Cup despite their recent loss to Canada in the CONCACAF Nations League. The USMNT, under Pochettino's guidance, fell 2-1 to Canada in the third-place match at SoFi Stadium. This marked Canada's first competitive win on American soil since a World Cup qualifying victory in 1957.

Canada took the lead when Tani Oluwaseyi scored in the 27th minute after Jonathan David's effort set him up inside the box. However, Patrick Agyemang equalised eight minutes later with a close-range finish following excellent play from Timothy Weah and Diego Luna. Agyemang became the fourth player to score in three of his first four USMNT appearances.

Pochettino: USMNT Can Improve Before World Cup

Jonathan David restored Canada's lead on the hour mark with a superb left-footed shot that beat Matt Turner. David now boasts five goal contributions against the US since his debut against them in October 2019, more than any other player during this period.

Pochettino has faced challenges since taking over from Gregg Berhalter in September, losing three of his first eight matches. Despite these setbacks, he is tasked with preparing the team for the upcoming World Cup, which they will co-host with Canada and Mexico next summer.

The USMNT has never advanced beyond the quarter-finals at a World Cup, last reaching that stage in 2002. In their most recent appearance, they were eliminated by the Netherlands in Qatar's round of 16 after failing to qualify for the tournament in 2018.

Pochettino remains confident that continued work with his players will foster improvement. "It's better (to lose) now because I think we have time," he stated. He emphasised not succumbing to pessimism and believes that with talented players, they will find ways to compete differently.

The United States is set to host Turkey and Switzerland for friendly matches in June as part of their preparations for future competitions.