USMNT focus on competitive edge as Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup prep continues at Concacaf Nations League

Carson, Calif. – The World Cup 2026 is perhaps still more than a year away, but the memories of the tournament are difficult to ignore for the US National Team. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino remains the figurehead for the ambitious plan of US Soccer to give an overview in a year that offers the overview of the Concacaf Nations League a first chance to lift silverware under the new boss. The literal setting also inspires the discussion about the World Cup, because the USMNT will play their first competition of the competition in Sofi Stadium, where they will take it live on Thursday in the CNL Semifinals, live on Panama Paramount+. However, the tournament is not exactly top of mind for the group.

“No matter how crazy it sounds,” said Christian Pulisic, “I don’t even think about the World Cup at all.”

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The group is entirely focused on the game for them, a wise choice if it is only considering considering recent history – this Panama team placed the first nail in the box of their Copa America Run, which ended with a surprise group stage last summer. That loss feels like a long time in many ways, largely because of the management change that produced a new start for a promising team that became at their lowest layer despite their elevated ambitions. However, the timing of that new start comes with his own challenges. Pochettino, who will only coach his seventh USMNT competition on Thursday, has a limited time to ensure that this team realizes their potential. His first priority, he said, is to concentrate on a most necessary immaterial – competitive advantage.

‘I think if you can compete at your best, in the way [of] The requirements of the competition, at a high level, “said Pochettino.” I think we can add after all the ideas – tactical ideas, the strategies and the game plan, and you can be efficient because it is easier … but if you do not compete in the way the competition requires, it is difficult to be efficient in all ideas and the tactical plan, the game plan, and that is the most important thing for me. “

Although Pochettino does not bear the luggage of the disappointment of Copa America last summer, his comments seem to tackle the lack of intensity that defined their doomed run. It is an approach that the players have completely embraced, even though they only have three training sessions under their belts on their way to Thursday’s game. There is a level of familiarity that has started at the moment – although Tyler Adams And Gio Reyna has been in the camp for the first time since Pochettino took over, just about everyone gets used to the rhythms and ideas of the new coach.

“We have been in the camp a few times with Pochettino and some of the boys who are relatively new to this camp here have also been to him in the January camp,” said Weston McKennie. “I think it is a challenge that everyone is confronted with, but I clearly think that for the players here, they are here for a reason and they would not be here if they could not quickly catch on in what the plan is and what we are trying to achieve here, so I clearly think that everyone has the opportunity to manage fast change and payment styles and ideas quickly understand.”

The players of Pochettino are also in accordance with the fact that making the competitive advantage is a determining aspect of their game plans a fundamental element of their future success.

“With the short time we have, it can be difficult,” said Pulisic. “Everyone treats the same with the national team, but I think I just took that in our identity, a little bit of filth, a bit of that extra bite is really important for us. I think the coach wants that too and just every day in training and preparing and taking it with us in the game.”

The pressure is of course on the USMNT to win a fourth consecutive CNL title, especially after the big splash of US Soccer to land Pochettino. Pulisic believes that the next natural progression among the new head coach is to ‘win a trophy’, but the consensus seems to be that the main goal of the CNL final is to show improvement. They will have a unique opportunity to do that alone this week, especially because it relates to testing the depth of the USMNT. The team will be without several important players due to injury, in particular Antonee Robinson, while nine players from the MLS-High January camp made the cutAn unusually high number when the entire senior team is available.

How Pochettino chooses to answer his line up questions, will be an important focus on Thursday, with the possibility that new tactical ideas will finally be in front after he has made some more subtle choices in his first games with the USMNT. It can be a difficult position to be at stake in a trophy, but it can also be useful to work out those problems with a year-plus to go for the World Cup. Even while the team embraces the mentality of one day, there is no way to ignore the big event that is around the corner.

“If you ask me if I want to win of course. I want to win the competition because that will help us build our confidence and trust,” Pochettino said. “At the same time, we must be intelligent and try to discover the best players to build a strong team, the core of [the] Team with the opportunity to fight for big things … we want to win, it’s not an excuse, but I think important for us, the goal is the World Cup. “