MARIETTA, Ga. (AP) – Mauricio Pochettino told American soccer players they can do what almost no one thought was possible: win the World Cup.
“Why not us? Why not us? Why not us?” he said Friday. “We have to truly believe that we can get there. We have to dream.”
Pochettino reiterated his message publicly ahead of friendlies against Belgium on Saturday and Portugal on Tuesday. he told the players directly That’s when they reported to camp this week.
“Dreams inspire reality,” he added.
The United States has not reached the World Cup semifinals since the first tournament in 1930, and has not reached the quarterfinals since 2002. Since then, the U.S. was eliminated in the last 16 in 2010; 2014 and 2022lost in the group stage in 2006, Failed to qualify in 2018.
Only eight countries have won the World Cup: Brazil (five times), Germany and Italy (four times each), Argentina (three times), France and Uruguay (two times each), England and Spain (one each).
Former Argentina national team defender Pochettino Will be named U.S. coach to replace Gregg Berhalter at the end of 2024cited American spirituality as a cause for optimism.
“Another day, you listen to a press conference from another national team’s coaching staff, and (they) say, ‘Okay, you’re being too arrogant if you say we’re going to win,'” he explained. “If we say, ‘It’s going to be difficult to win,’ that’s a negative thing. It’s not optimistic. It’s creating negativity. What I want to say is that we’re here because we believe we can win, and what I can tell the people is that we really believe.”
The 15th-ranked USA will open the World Cup on June 12 against No. 41 Paraguay in Inglewood, Calif., play No. 27 Australia in Seattle a week later, and finish the group stage on June 25 in Inglewood against No. 23 Turkey or No. 78 Kosovo. The co-hosts, the United States, Mexico and Canada, are seeded to avoid facing the top-ranked countries in the first round.
With the World Cup expanding from 32 to 48 countries, the top two teams in each of the 12 groups will advance to a new round of 32, along with the best eight teams in third place.
The last time a third-place team advanced to the finals was in 1994, when the United States hosted the World Cup in a 24-team tournament. The U.S. team made it through as one of them, but lost in the round of 16 to eventual champion Brazil.
“We need to send the right energy and good emotions to the people in order for them to really believe in us and support us,” Pochettino said.
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