Pochettino finally feels WC 'excitement' for United States - ESPN

CHICAGO — United States coach Mauricio Pochettino said he could finally feel the excitement he expected to see from the American fanbase during his team's 2-1 loss to Germany on Saturday at Soldier Field — its final game before the start of the World Cup.

The match was played in front of a stellar crowd of 63,636 at Soldier Field and came just days after a crowd of 57,741 watched the U.S. defeat Senegal in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Right back Sergiño Dest said he was «pretty surprised» by the crowd in Charlotte, and Pochettino and midfielder Tyler Adams raved about the Chicago crowd after Saturday's match.

«Maybe my expectation, or my mistake, was expecting the excitement around the U.S. team a year and a half ago to be what it is today,» Pochettino said. «That was probably my mistake. We had to build that excitement again. When we started this journey towards the World Cup a year and a half ago, maybe we expected too much too soon.

»But now you can really feel it."

With the U.S. having automatically qualified for the 2026 World Cup due to hosting duties, it's been a bit more difficult to engage the American soccer audience in recent years. Not including two Nations League doubleheaders in 2024 (which also featured Mexico matches), only one U.S. game had topped 35,000 in attendance until this spring, and 12 of 16 had drawn under 21,000.

But attendance and excitement have picked up as the World Cup has approached, even with multigoal losses in a pair of well-attended spring friendlies.

«Yeah, incredible. This is what you kind of wish for no matter if it's a sendoff game or a regular game,» Adams said after the game. «These are the atmospheres we need. I mean, obviously Chicago's an unreal sport city and they love