Pochettino: Team USA needs more patriotism, arrogance to reach peak at 2026 World Cup

Mauricio Pochettino, the Argentine coach tasked with leading the U.S. national team through the 2026 World Cup, said he and his staff have been quite impressed with the level of play from the MLS players at camp in Fort Lauderdale this week.

Because the camp falls outside a FIFA window, Pochettino had a chance to evaluate non-Europe-based players ahead of friendly matches Saturday at 3 p.m. against Venezuela at Inter Miami’s Chase Stadium and four days later against Costa Rica in Orlando.

His message to all players in the U.S. pool, domestic and abroad, has been firm and twofold: He doesn’t care whether you play in Europe or MLS, so long as you perform at a high level. Also, he insists you be passionate, patriotic and bleed the national team colors, the way he was raised from his early days with Newell’s Old Boys’ youth teams in Argentina.

“One thing from Argentina that I can apply here, I think it is so simple but, it’s the way the Argentine players compete, the mentality,” he told reporters after training Friday at the Inter Miami facility.

“When you lose a ball, you cry. When you lose a game, you spend maybe one week in your room and don’t want to go out. How do you defend your badge, your flag? How do you defend your identity, your culture?

“I think that is what we want to translate. Because when you play for your national team and you are listening to your anthem, you need to feel something in your skin, inside yourself,” said Pochettino, proudly wearing navy, red and white USA gear.

Pochettino, 52, said a stronger sense of national pride can elevate the U.S. team to another level.

“If you feel that, I don’t know the percentage that you are going to give more, but for sure it is one or five or 10 percent more. You are going to have extra energy, extra everything. [Team USA] is capable of feeling that. We have the quality and the capacity. We are so professional. We have discipline. I think we can build a very competitive team.”

He added that the U.S. team needs to play with more belief and confidence.

“There is still a gap between Argentina and Spain, but we are reducing it every day. I think there is a question of belief and I think that being a little more arrogant in our ability to believe that we can do it well and that we have the quality enough to compete at the same level,” Pochettino said.

Pochettino was hired in September to replace Gregg Berhalter and lead Team USA through the 2026 World Cup, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. His coaching career included stops at Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea over the past decade and he said the standard of play he has seen from several MLS players this week is comparable to the European standard.

“We take [this January camp] very seriously, even if it is not on the FIFA calendar,” Pochettino said. “We want these players to compete for spots and feel confident. It is not important from where they came from. For us, it’s important how they are going to perform here with us.”

He added a warning to the Europe-based American players: Don’t assume your roster spots are safe and you are ahead in the pecking order just because you play overseas.

“We have players here who can reach the same level as players abroad,” he said. “MLS has grown a lot in the past several years and maybe there is an impression that to compete well you must leave the United States, but from what we are seeing so far in this camp there are many players in this camp who could be playing elsewhere…

“We are seeing players, I don’t want to mention names, but players who have no reason to envy [Europe-based] players who were with us in previous camps. The players in Europe who are feeling calm because they are in Europe need to know there are players here who are also pushing to get spots and just because you are in Europe doesn’t give you a free pass to play on the national team.”

The players in camp appreciate Pochettino’s open-minded approach.

“The main thing he told us is that it doesn’t really matter where you’re playing; if he feels you’re capable of performing at this high level, then he’ll pick you no matter what,” said Patrick Agyemang, a forward with Charlotte FC. “That gives us a lot of confidence because we know we’re all in the mix no matter what and it’s not just based on who’s playing where.”

Like Pochettino, Venezuelan coach Fernando Batista is using the January camp to evaluate predominantly domestic-based players. Only a handful of regulars from the World Cup qualifying roster will be playing on Saturday.

Venezuela has never qualified for a World Cup but has been making strides of late. La Vinotinto (The Red Wine, as the team is known) is in eighth place through 12 games in the CONMEBOL (South American) World Cup Qualifying standings after ties against Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay. The top six qualify and the seventh-place team enters a playoff.

Venezuela made it to the quarterfinals of the 2024 Copa America with wins over Ecuador and Mexico before losing to Canada in penalty kicks.

Among the players of note on the Venezuelan squad for Saturday’s game against USA: goalkeeper Wuilker Farinez, defenders Roberto Rosales and Carlos Vivas, midfielders Maurice Cova and Daniel Pereira, and forward Saul Gaurirapa.

Pereira played college soccer at Virginia Tech and was the No. 1 overall pick by Austin FC in the 2021 MLS Draft. Farinez played for Lens in France, was Venezuela’s starting keeper in the 2019 Copa America, and is making his return to the national team after a long absence.

USA vs. Venezuela How to Watch

The USA vs. Venezuela game kicks off at 3 p.m. and will be broadcast on TNT, Telemundo, Universo, Max and Peacock. Spanish language radio commentary will be on Futbol de Primera. Tickets are available through Ticketmaster and ussoccer.com