WASHINGTON – Mauricio Pochettino recently watched ‘Miracle,’ the 2004 film about the US hockey team’s Cinderella run to the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, on a recommendation from a Stateside acquaintance.
The US men’s national team’s head coach says he took inspiration – was moved to tears, in fact – by the story. And now that his side have learned their group-stage assignments at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, he and his players can sketch a few more details into their own dreams of glory.
“Now the excitement grows. It makes it feel more real,” midfielder and Red Bull New York product Tyler Adams told reporters via videoconference after Friday’s World Cup draw. “But for this group, the anticipation was obviously a long time coming, to play on home soil.
“I mean, I think every young kid, when you're growing up, you think of World Cups when you're out in the backyard or front yard, kicking the ball around.”
‘Poch’ and his players showed no celebration or relief about being drawn into a relatively manageable Group D alongside Australia, Paraguay and the winner of UEFA Playoff C in March, which will involve Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia and Kosovo, avoiding any trace of disrespect to an opponent, even having defeated two of them in friendlies earlier this autumn.
Yet there’s both excitement and reassurance in now having some specifics to plan for, and a path towards the world’s most sought-after trophy to visualize.
“It does set up well,” acknowledged veteran defender Tim Ream, “but at the same time, we know that just because it sets up well on paper doesn't mean that it's going to go well because we think it should.
“Listen, we all want to win the World Cup. You don't play a tournament just to be there,” added the Charlotte FC star. “Yeah, we want to win. I think people can laugh at it and say whatever they want. But it's exciting. We're all excited. It's a World Cup.”
Initially, Pochettino joked to reporters in the post-draw mixed zone at the Kennedy Center that having just faced Australia and Paraguay “means less work, because we’ve already done the homework, because it's fresh.” He was more nuanced in a press conference two hours later, as he revealed more about his staff’s approach to preparing for the Euro playoff winners.
“The problem is, rather than having three teams to scout, we have two plus four,” said the Argentine coach. “From here to March, we are going to amplify the numbers of teams that we need to observe, because now we have, of course, Australia and Paraguay, but we need to add another four teams and be prepared … we cannot wait until March and then it's time to work. No, we need to be ready from now.
“These two games [their 2-1 wins over the Socceroos and La Albirroja] are going to be a good reference for us to start to scout and to see and analyze the two teams, but I think the reality is that the circumstances are going to change, and that is why it's going to be completely different games, maybe different roster or different players.”
The Yanks know well how tricky advancing to the knockout stages can be in a tournament like this – last year’s grisly flameout in Copa America, which led to the dismissal of previous coach Gregg Berhalter and the hiring of Pochettino, offers a painful firsthand reminder.
Still, they avoided any of the true sharks lurking in Pots 2, 3 and 4. And with many in the current player pool having collectively experienced the unique environment of the world’s biggest sporting event back at Qatar 2022, there’s less of the unknown to fret over.
“Looking back on it, I think we have more experience. We're a lot more mature. We've grown a lot as individuals and as a team,” said Adams.
“Everyone's going to want us to say winning is obviously the goal. Our idea is to win; that's the goal. But I think setting the benchmark of the furthest the US team has gone is also realistic. So we want to go and make a run. But again, it's a game-by-game mentality.”
As he has so often since taking the helm, Pochettino emphasized the need for full-fledged commitment and relentless focus, harking back on his own experiences as a member of Argentina’s disappointing 2002 World Cup campaign, which he said sent him into a dark period of depression afterwards.
Seize this opportunity, he urged his squad. Because you might not get another.
“We need to always try to be better, being humble, being not egoists, being a good teammate, play for the team, make the right effort in the right moment. That's why I was watching ‘Miracle,’” he said, approvingly citing the words of legendary USA hockey coach Herb Brooks.
“We don't need the best players. We need the right players,” echoed Poch, “to make the team a strong team, and that is what we want to provide to this national team: the right players to build a powerful team with the possibility to fight with any team in the world.”
