"Mauricio Pochettino was just establishing himself among European club soccer's managerial elite, taking Tottenham to the Champions League final a year later. Few could have imagined that he'd be leading the USMNT into the 2026 World Cup, and perhaps fewer believe he'll stick around for the next cycle. Nevertheless, after a 2-1 win over Australia in Commerce City, Colorado to end the October window, Pochettino noted he's building a team with 2030 in mind, too."
"I think it's our responsibility to create some legacy, or to try to create some core of players that behave in the same way and feel in the same way, respect the values that we were talking about, culture and everything, Pochettino said. And after 2026, another period of four years, maybe to have this core of players that can arrive in the next [World Cup] in 2030 in a different situation."
The United States was confirmed as a 2026 World Cup co-host following the 2018 tournament while the national team was recovering from failing to qualify. Mauricio Pochettino, coming off success at Tottenham, is building the USMNT with both 2026 and 2030 in mind and aims to create a legacy and a core group sharing values and culture. Key current players — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna — would be between 27 and 31 by 2030 and could still compete. Younger emerging players like Folarin Balogun and Tanner Tessmann could blend with the core to extend competitiveness into 2030.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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