Mauricio Pochettino does not want to hear the word “underdog.” The US Men’s National Team head coach, appointed on September 10, 2024, is actively pushing back against the idea that a host nation with growing soccer infrastructure should be written off before the tournament even starts. His message to American fans has been simple: “Why not us?”
The 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the US, Canada, and Mexico, will be the largest edition in the tournament’s history, featuring 48 teams and 104 matches across 16 venues from June 11 to July 11. And the crypto industry is treating it like the Super Bowl of adoption events.
From bochas courts to the biggest stage in sports
Pochettino’s connection to the World Cup is deeply personal. He traces it back to 1978, when he was a six-year-old in Murphy, Santa Fe, Argentina, watching the tournament on one of the few color television sets in a small club where old folk played bochas, a kind of boules.
Pochettino succeeded Gregg Berhalter as head coach. The Argentine manager previously led Tottenham Hotspur to a Champions League final and managed Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
