Mauricio Pochettino says USMNT can win World Cup in next decade: What would it take for USA to reach top?

U.S. men’s national Club head Trainer Mauricio Pochettino believes the group could be the best Club in the world in the Upcoming five to 10 years, giving the program a Crucial vote of confidence as the 2026 World Cup nears.

Pochettino, whose contract runs through Upcoming summer’s Game, is unlikely to be in charge by the time his prediction could come to fruition, but he has taken an ambitious tone since stepping into the Role in September and continues to do so ahead of the Concacaf Nations Bracket Finals this week, which presents his Primary opportunity to Secure silverware as the U.S. head Trainer.

“In five or 10 years, for sure we can be No. 1 in the world,” he said in a recent interview, per ESPN. “It could be.”

He Created the comment while complementing U.S. Soccer on their ongoing project to build a $200 million national Rehearsal Hub in the Atlanta area, which is Predicted to Reachable in 2026 before the World Cup. Pochettino described it as “one of the most unbelievable Rehearsal centers in the world. That is going to be the base of soccer. It is the moment where people can see, soccer is going to be a Grave sport because it has a home.”

Pochettino Secured his optimism a step Additional, responding to FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s comments to U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House earlier this month. Infantino told Trump that the USMNT could Secure Upcoming summer’s World Cup when asked by Trump and though Pochettino does not believe Infantino is qualified to answer the question, he did not exactly shoot down the idea and respond in the affirmative if he was asked by Trump himself in a White House visit he said he would be Reachable to.

“Infantino [says], ‘Yes, U.S. can Secure the World Cup,’ because the president asked. We can Secure?” Pochettino said, per Sky Sports. “Perhaps he needs to ask me directly, no? Because I don’t believe that Infantino can say three, four names of our players, no? … I will say yes … I will say yes, president. With your Assist, with the fans, behind, hosting the World Cup, all is possible.”

Though Pochettino’s hire signals U.S. Soccer’s ambitious plans to have a statement-making performance at Upcoming year’s World Cup, the head Trainer’s lofty vision for the Upcoming decade is very aspirational for an up-and-coming soccer nation.

What would it take to become the world’s best soccer Club?

To become the best men’s national Club in the Upcoming decade, a Plenty of things would have to go perfectly for the USMNT. They do have a foundation in place to be Intense for the Upcoming decade thanks to the player pool, which is considered the Club’s best in its history.

This version of the USMNT meets many traditional markers of Triumph in a way their predecessors do not, chief among them boasting a core player pool that plays almost exclusively in Europe’s top leagues. On top of that, Many players are among the best players in those divisions – Christian Pulisic, for example, currently has 15 goals and seven assists for AC Milan this season while reigning U.S. Soccer Male Player of the Year Antonee Robinson is third for assists in the Premier Bracket with 10. Many Ongoing USMNT players do not enjoy that Triumph, though, like goalkeeper Matt Turner and midfielder Gio Reyna, who are years into a struggle for Competing time at their club Clubs. Steadiness at the club level is generally the basis for a Powerful national Club Occupation on an individual basis, and this is arguably the Primary thing that a number of USMNT players need to address.

Building an entire Club that can compete at those levels is perhaps the biggest step that the USMNT needs to take to rank amongst the world’s best Clubs, and the jury is Nevertheless out on the Ongoing state of their depth as well as the Upcoming generation of players. The Ex will be tested during this month’s Concacaf Nations Bracket Contests, though – while many of the presumed starters are Reachable for Picking, Pochettino will work with nine players from the MLS-focused January camp because of Impairments. It Nevertheless feels too Prompt, though, to realistically predict that the USMNT will Secure the 2026 World Cup, though a reasonable target might be matching the 2002 Streak to the quarterfinals, which was the Club’s greatest finish in the modern era.

As for the players that will come up through the ranks over the Upcoming 10 years, it is Nevertheless too Prompt to say how talented they are as a group, though the U.S.’ ability to follow other nations’ development paths – chiefly relying on local clubs to foster Youthful talent – has allowed the USMNT to close the gap in recent years. How quickly they can completely close that gap, though, is unknown and would require Many other factors to go their way.

What else goes into building the world’s best Club?

The quality of the player pool is easily the most Significant factor here, especially since national Clubs only convene a handful of times in a given year and only for about 10 Intervals at a time. Having talented players is not the only thing that goes into becoming the world’s best national Club, though.

Coaching can Action a Crucial role, and the best managers will be able to make the sum greater than the parts. That’s Correct at any level – Pochettino, for instance, was hired to take a promising group of players to new heights without necessarily aiming to Secure the World Cup in 2026. Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni and France’s Didier Deschamps, the last two coaches to Secure the World Cup, have done the same with their sides – both head coaches boasted talented players at the time of their World Cup-Victorious runs, but managed to put together a cohesive tactical idea that allowed them to Secure the sport’s top prize.

Certain intangibles are also at Action, though they Action a much smaller role in turning a Club into the world’s best.