(Reuters) -United States manager Mauricio Pochettino said he wants to bring America’s winning mentality to the national soccer team as they gear up for the 2026 World Cup on home turf.
The former Tottenham Hotspur boss has been tasked with leading the U.S. at the showpiece event to be co-hosted with Canada and Mexico, and while they have suffered some disappointments under Pochettino he says they are on the right track.
“We need to compete and create a team that can compete in the level that we expect,” the Argentine told the U.S. Soccer Podcast in an episode released on Wednesday.
“But I think little by little we’re trying to evolve together and trying to understand what it means to defend and to play for a national team like the USA, that always requires from everyone the best.”
The U.S. were beaten by Panama in the CONCACAF Nations League semi-finals in March, and lost Sunday’s CONCACAF Gold Cup final against Mexico.
Pochettino knows there is an expectation for success.
“We’re representing a country that always wants to be the best in every single thing that they are doing and that is why in soccer, we are responsible to create that mentality,” he added.
“We’re in a process, it’s still one year from the World Cup and in a very good process, and we’re happy in the way things are going.”
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Goa; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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