The USMNT honeymoon from Mauricio Pochettino ends with a terrible week in Los Angeles

Inglewood, California – in mid -September 2024, Mauricio Pocsettino crossed Midtown Manhattan as if he was walking on the water. Cameras dragged him Through the corridors of Hudson's sites, in a Ritzy theater where, under the spotlight, it was presented as “one of the most sought after managers” in world football. “This,” said the master of Andrés master, “is the beginning of something incredible.” Pochettino had arrived To raise the American national male team. And for six months, many fans trust that he would do it.

For six months, they absorbed his will have; They enjoyed his mystical quirks. They stopped it for selfies and sang its name, and Pochettino launched their dizzy heat. He looked for photos and hugs. Released from the self -buyers of Paris and London, his smile seemed to shine comfort.

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Until he entered a post-match press conference here at the Sofi stadium on Thursday, with dissatisfaction and dismayed dismay.

He was “really disappointed,” he said, with the The loss of the USMNT against Panama; and “disappointed” again after The loss of Sunday for Canada; And fans were too.

He deplored a lack of “assault”, daring, grain, and many fans agreed with his evaluation; But many were also blamed for him.

For six months, Pochettino appreciated the so-called advantage of doubt, the type that comes with a curriculum vitae filled with a final of the Champions League, Chelsea and PSG. It was a $ 6 million of which The contract was funded by billionaires. His stature has that of us and Americans of the players, so much so that he seemed untouchable.

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But for four discouraging days here in southern California, its celebrity began to collapse.

Its aura has become a facade that hid a still stagnant USMNT.

His beautiful experiences have become confusing decisions.

And his honeymoon ended.

Pochettino, according to all accounts, is a fairly good football coach. It is not the main reason for the defeats of Panama and Canada. He should not have restarted the USMNT after only three A-Team training camps.

But the basic facts are basic facts. While the Pochettino predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, finished a Concacaf with three peat And never lost a match of the League of Nations, Usmnt de Pochettino lost two in a pitiful manner.

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And while the Mexican pocket counterpart, Javier Aguirre, a Passion and objective injected into the similar reconstruction of MexicoThe USMNT seems to regress.

Thus, the pressure began to slip towards Pocsettino, in addition to the players he implicitly blamed for the Face factory on Thursday. His tactics are examined, now with a critical eye rather than adoring. When, for example, he plays Yunus Musah, a strong central midfielder who is anemic in the last third, as Ailier, the fans question him rather than celebrating his ingenuity. When, for example, he needs creativity but leaves Gio Reyna and Diego Luna on the bench for 90 minutes, he is asked several times: because? For what?

He was praised as a genius when experiences bore fruit. Some November adjustments have scrambled its legend. He overturned Tim Weah from the right wing to the left because, apparently, he and his staff had tested players for domination to the right or left eye. He moved Christian Pulisic to a central position; And Antonee Robinson, who generally bombes the wing as a straight line, in the role of inverted midfielder. The result, a 4-2 Demolition of Jamaicawas attributed to its instant impact.

But in his three most relevant games, his players watched frightened and not prepared for a friend in October in Mexico; And disinterested by these finals of the League of Nations. They Panama failure failureAnd failed to fight Canada. And the fans began to realize that, you know, if this coach was not a supposed savior, he would get tear up for these performance.

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Pochettino seemed to do this when he cooked the loss of Sunday. He softened his criticism of the team and – although he clearly feels both disconcerted and upset by the lack of pride and competitiveness of the players – he moved away from these as explanations. “We are all responsible,” he said at his post-match press conference. He begged time, optimism and calm analysis.

But all around him, for the first time, questions swirl on his ability to raise the USMNT.

Longtime concerns about the adjustment of a manager of all controls in the international game have become more common.

Pochettino spoke this week to “discover” a “different way of working” because, unlike clubs, he hardly has time to understand and “feel” and shape his players. That he can adapt and “affect” them positively, with so few training sessions at his disposal, has always been a source of doubt. American football has reached beyond its budget to make a seven-digit bet that Pochettino, but an increasing number of fans begin to ask: was it stupid?

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Pochettino potential impact avenues are limited. He can, as he said on Saturday, “find different ways to motivate people or groups”, but this group was Motivated when necessary under Berhal. They were inspired by a collective goal. And in the Argentine Pochettino spirit, they should not need external motivation. “If anyone does not feel their own motivation, it's difficult,” he said. “In the end, you miss something important.”

Alternatively, he could choose different players for lists and 11 years. He did this Sunday, perhaps partly as a message to the underperformative stars. In Diego Luna, the only American spark in the game, he found an “example”, which he used to send this message: “The desire and the hunger he has shown is what we want.”

But he quickly fell back. Because he knows, surely, that he cannot afford to drop or alienate his stars. The American swimming pool is just not deep enough. Although Luna excelled, other reserves were one of the problems on Sunday. Pochettino threw them into an illogical mixture of deputies and beginners. The final product was, predictable, incoherent.

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Which brings us to the third potential area of ​​impact: tactics, game plants, etc. The first pocket fissure to build them for an international tournament was, at best, ineffective.

Thus, it has become sensitive to all the same doubts who have made players since the summer, and who have gone back to the foreground with the 2026 approaching World Cup.

While standing up from his chair on the podium of the press conference, feeling the change of mood, Pochettino apologized in the room. “Sorry guys,” he said with a wave and a sigh. “We feel ashamed, but – next time.”

And for the rest of the night, probably, he faced all the whirlwind questions. About 30 minutes later, sprawled in his shotgart seat on the team's bus, he stuck his eyes to glasses to his smartphone while the last of his players took place, and while the bus was moving on the night of Los Angeles.

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He will be “self-criticism”, he assured everyone and “think, as staff, (on the way) better. Better preparation, better analysis, a better choice maybe. ”

“And we are the first officials,” he said. “It's not to blame the player. … because we are responsible for the list and everything.”