00:06Soccer in the United States is on the rise.
00:11Grassroots participation is huge.
00:14The cut-through of the major European competitions is increasing
00:18and the country's changing demographics are working in the sport's favour,
00:23with more young people and migrants fans of the game.
00:27MLS is capturing headlines, with David Beckham bringing credibility
00:31and Lionel Messi star power.
00:34And the franchise model, antithetical to global football culture,
00:38looks to have found its place.
00:41It is now routine for the best in the US to ply their trade among Europe's elite.
00:47And in 2026, the World Cup will return to North America,
00:52with the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
00:58Expectation is far higher than the last time the World Cup stopped on American shores in 1994.
01:04But the US side is not where fans would have wanted or expected their team to be,
01:09ahead of such a massive opportunity.
01:13Following the 2018 World Cup, there was a massive focus on generational change.
01:19Under the leadership of Greg Berhalter, the likes of Giovanni Reiner,
01:24Timothy Weyer and Christian Pulisic all blossomed for the national team
01:28and at European powerhouses.
01:32You know, I know that the majority of the fans are supportive of the group, supportive of what we've been
01:38doing.
01:38They've seen the rise, they've seen the progress.
01:40We're playing with the youngest team in the world.
01:43So, I mean, all these things are really positive.
01:46And for us it's just about staying grounded and focusing on how to keep getting better.
01:50But after reaching the round of 16 at Qatar 2022, the project began to stall.
01:57There was acrimony involving the prodigy Reiner.
02:00Berhalter was not immediately rehired following his contract expiring,
02:06then was eventually relieved of his duties a year later following an early exit at the 2024 Copa America.
02:13The US Soccer Federation responded by shooting for the moon
02:17and hiring Maurizio Pochettino, one of the most highly regarded managers in the game,
02:23following stints with Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
02:31The Argentines reign began promisingly enough,
02:34but a run of four consecutive defeats in 2025 introduced doubt into the equation.
02:42We need to start to win when the World Cup starts.
02:47Too many examples that teams that win during five years and then arrive the World Cup
02:54and then they don't arrive in the best condition.
02:56I was involved in 2002.
02:58With Argentina we were beaten during five years and then we arrived to the World Cup
03:05and we were out in the group stage.
03:08And it's a no-cover stage, it's a group stage that you need to arrive in the best condition.
03:16Some form returned during the CONCACAF Gold Cup, but the US was still unable to defeat Mexico in the final
03:23in Houston.
03:24After a long period nurturing a familiar squad under Berhalter, there was a growing sense Pochettino was starting from scratch,
03:32just a year out from the biggest event in US football history.
03:37Now, I promise you, no one is sure that he's going to be on the roster of the World Cup
03:452020 season.
03:47I don't believe that before that was in the same way or not.
03:50But today, I promise all the guys feel that they need to fight for to be there.
04:00And that is priceless, because all fields that need to be in a very, they need to go out of
04:10the comfortable zone.
04:13And when you are out of your comfortable zone, I think only what you can do is only you can
04:22improve.
04:22Only you can improve.
04:24And that, I think, is a good signal and is one of the things that we change in one year.
04:30Pochettino favours a high-pressing, attacking style of football.
04:34But such has been his experimentation with players during his tenure,
04:38his preferred starting XI is something of a mystery and likely to change on a game-by-game basis.
04:46Leadership will be provided by 38-year-old defender Tim Ream,
04:51all-action midfielder Tyler Adams and the enduring quality of forward Christian Pulisic.
04:58Christian is a great player. He's a player that has continuity.
05:02And I think we can say that he's the most important player now for the national team that is performing
05:10and is playing under big pressure.
05:12And he needs to perform every single week and every single game in a place like Milan.
05:19And he's doing well. And yes, we are so happy when he's scoring goals, giving assists and performing.
05:25That is what we want and now is to help him to arrive into the World Cup in the best
05:31place.
05:33Pulisic has been starring for AC Milan, with other Americans in Serie A,
05:38including Weston McKennie at Juventus and Younes Moussa at Atalanta.
05:45But with Pochettino casting the net wide, it has allowed the likes of Follerin Balogun and Haji Wright to stake
05:52their claims to a place in the squad.
05:57And there's no shortage of wild cards that could make a difference, including Gio Reyna, still only 23 but yet
06:05to deliver on his youthful promise.
06:09I think I was 14 or 13. I've always wanted, said I wanted to play in it.
06:14Went to the last one, didn't have as big a role as I would have liked.
06:18But yeah, this time it's, yeah, obviously want to have a big role, want the team to do well, want
06:24to have a great tournament with the team and our home country would be special.
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