The USA must consider they’ll win the World Cup? Pochettino will need all the assistance he can get

When you hear Mauricio Pochettino say that his latest players need to “believe” they’ll win the World Cup, it’s easy to roll your eyes.

It's the sort of eye-catching soundbite that ambitious managers often produce at their first press conferences.

What else could he say, in any case the months of international wooing of his latest employers, the red wine and steaks, the unprecedented financial package?

No, the Argentine is a winner and speaks like one. He can also be aware that he has two tasks to meet with the US national team: not only to extend the standard of the team in a comparatively short time period, but in addition to alter their mentality.

When asked in regards to the limited time (only 10 international breaks and no tournament) before the USA co-hosts the World Cup in 2026, he said: “Everyone thinks we don't have time to prepare and come to the World Cup in top shape.

“I'm on the other side. I don't want to make an excuse. I don't want to give the players an excuse to say: 'Yes, but I don't have time to learn the new ideas and the new philosophy.' No. We're talking about football here and the players are so intelligent and talented and can play differently.

“We have time and we actually need to consider in big things. We need to consider that we will win not only one game, however the World Cup. If not, it would be very difficult. We want players who show up on the training camp from day one and think big things.”

“This is the one solution to implement this philosophy or this concept of ​​delivering performance and putting your talent on the service of the team. That might be our big challenge.”

The players he takes on are, by and large, intelligent and realistic. They are also used to being asked what progress means to them. The subject came up frequently in interviews before and during this summer's Copa America.

“Getting through the quarterfinals,” midfielder Tyler Adams said when asked in June what a positive result would look like. “We need to win a knockout game under pressure. That's how we'll measure our success.”

That may not have been what some fans wanted to hear; a temporary departure from a rallying cry that promised trophies in the competition widely heralded as a dry run for the World Cup.

But if Adams wanted to create reasonable expectations, he was right. As it turned out, victory in a knockout match would have been a real step forward for a team that was thrashed 5-1 by eventual Copa America finalists Colombia in a friendly on June 8.

Instead, the USA were eliminated in the group stage. They were victims of an individual error by Tim Weah in the loss to Panama and then lacked the quality to avoid that error. They should have beaten Uruguay to advance, but they just weren't good enough.

The magnitude of the duty ahead of him should come as no surprise to Pochettino. It may sound nice, but when he talks about replicating the US women's national team's streak of success, that also seems absurd.

Deep down, he probably knows that too. That's why he publicly calls on his players from the beginning to stop hiding. No excuses. No believing within the story that there's simply no time.

It's a chance for the 52-year-old because in point of fact the story might be true and he’ll ultimately be judged on his words and results. The USA just lost to Canada and this week could only draw with a New Zealand team that’s 78 places below them on this planet rankings.

Confidence is low and Pochettino knows that constructing some kind of collective belief is crucial to getting the team back on its feet and arriving in 2026 with the mindset to win big games.

It's unlikely he actually believes the USMNT will win the World Cup in just below two years at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. But a team often accused of lacking fighting spirit when it really counts needs to start out pondering greater, and that's what that is about.

Secondly, his job is to adapt quickly to the very different demands of being a coach in international football, where he has limited opportunities to construct a team that may break down partitions for him, as he did in his best days at Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur.

“Every time we have the opportunity to be with them, we will give them the information in a very targeted way,” Pochettino added on Friday. “We have to approach training smart enough to get the best out of them.”

But while he understandably preferred to not alienate a few of his latest players by listing the team's weaknesses at his official launch, one other reality is that Pochettino have to be ruthless.

He must quickly discover a top-class goalkeeper. He must construct a defense with the aggressiveness and intelligence that the teams from his South American homeland display.

There also must be a greater balance in midfield, because the team has loads of clever defensive midfielders but lacks consistent creativity. How long will he spend, for instance, solving the Gio Reyna puzzle?

Then he must find the striker solution that may spur a team that has been too frustrated in front of goal on the Copa. Which of the promising young players who performed well on the Paris Olympics will he include in his team?

And he has to do all this while achieving enough results to take a partly skeptical US fan base along on his journey.

So don't roll your eyes when Pochettino talks about how he believes the USMNT can win the World Cup. Maybe as a substitute you must close them and silently pray for the divine intervention he might need to attain all of his goals in lower than two years.

He will need all the assistance he can get.