Mauricio Pochettino: USMNT needs 'arrogance' to compete - ESPN

United States men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino insists American players can compete with the likes of Spain and Argentina in terms of talent, but must be «a little more arrogant» with their mentality when approaching the game.

«There is still a gap between Argentina and Spain, but we are reducing it every day. I think there is a question of belief and I think that being a little more arrogant in our ability to believe that we can do it well and that we have the quality enough to compete at the same level,» Pochettino said.

«I think that's where we are and I think we're going to get to 2026 at that level.»

Since joining US Soccer in September 2024, Pochettino has emphasized the group's need for a stronger mentality when approaching the road to the 2026 World Cup. Though the United States will not participate in any qualifiers as a host nation of the 2026 tournament, Pochettino demands his players to treat every game with a level of aggressiveness.

«Our principal objective is to have the ball in position and then evolve and develop all the ways to keep the ball in position and to, of course, be aggressive and to score a goal because in the end that the sport is about scoring and not conceding,» Pochettino said.

«In this moment, we need to react and we need to be explosive, we need to have power, we need to have, you know, the capacity, the focus and the concentration and the aggressivity to go and the organization to go and recover as soon as possible. Why are we very demanding?

»I think it's a combination of all the things that I think if you want to have a very balanced team in possession and out of possession you need to be very demanding on both sides and of course we are very demanding… yes, we are