USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino has reiterated his all-or-nothing approaching to winning the World Cup and claimed the “mood” around his team’s last-gasp defeat to Turkiye made him feel the co-hosts had been eliminated from the 2026 edition.
With Group D already won, Pochettino switched nine players from the win over Australia – by far the most changes a USMNT team has ever made between World Cup matches – and gave finals debuts to the likes of defenders Miles Robinson and Mark McKenzie, as well as bringing in goalkeeper Matt Turner
“It is a topic that I don’t understand,” Pochettino tetchily replied when he was asked whether his selection against opponents who were unable to progress could affect the USA’s campaign.
“Maybe I am not showing it because your question is a little bit weird, but I am so happy and the players are happy because we performed, we competed and we [finished] first.
“I was talking with the Turkish channel now and I just said ‘have a good trip back to Turkiye.’ Maybe I am confused, but maybe the mood or the the vibe is like we are going home and Turkey are staying, no?”
World Cup 2026: Why Pochettino changed team vs Turkey
Pochettino explained that he did not want to risk bookings or “players that maybe have some problems or circumstance” before his team advance to the last 32.
The former Argentina international referenced Group E winners Germany’s late defeat to Ecuador hours earlier.
“Germany lose the momentum, too,” he jibed. “Germany, being one of the main favourites, ends up losing.
“There are too many topics in in football that I don’t understand. The objective was to finish first and we are first.
“Now the next stage is going to be a final and we are ready. We are much better than before this game, because we have players now with 90 minutes in their legs and performing who are ready to help if we need them from the beginning or from the bench.
| P | W | D | L | F | A | GD | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 4 | +4 | 6 |
| Australia | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
| Paraguay | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | -2 | 4 |
| Turkiye | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | -2 | 0 |
“It is all positive and I am so positive and happy. [This] result is anecdotal. The priorities were different, beyond the fact that we also wanted to win.
“There were things to balance and it was the best decision. And you can also win or lose, just like Germany lost with all their [new] starters too.
“No-one has congratulated us on finishing first in a very difficult group. I promise you, it’s not easy after winning two games to play against a team that is not playing for nothing.
“I was a professional player for a long time and I know it is difficult and it was difficult for the boys to go out there and and try to perform.
“That is why I am so happy about the performance and I want to congratulate everyone.”
USA vs Bosnia: Pochettino wants greater World Cup ambitions
The USA’s next opponents are European play-off winners Bosnia and Herzegovina, who took four points and secured their first win against eliminated Qatar.
“If we win the next match, [the changes] won’t have weighed anything at all,” said Pochettino. “And if we don’t, you can say whatever you want – that it weighed heavily, that it didn’t weigh.
“We go back to football cliches, of which there are many and they depend on the result. What do you want me to tell you?
“Whatever I say won’t convince you, and I won’t convince anyone because… everyone writes whatever they want or thinks whatever they want.”
Quarter-finalists in 2002, the USA have lost their three knockout phase matches since then. “Making history is winning a World Cup, not winning three matches at a World Cup,” argued Pochettino.
“It seems to me that it’s a bit small-minded [to only target the knockout stage] – a bit too much thinking very, very, very small, right?
“What good is it to win three matches if you lose the next one and you don’t win the World Cup?
“As for expectations and pressure, there is no problem. This team has managed it since the beginning of the World Cup.”
World Cup 2026: Christian Pulisic injury update
Christian Pulisic came on during the second half for the captain’s first appearance since being replaced with a calf injury during the USA’s opening 4-1 win over Paraguay.
“It was important to for him to to get the feelings again after not being able to be available against Australia,” said Pochettino.
“One of the objectives not only was to win, but to provide Christian with between 30 and 40 minutes, to get the feeling to be ready for the next game.
“That is important, too. I’m happy because he finished well and made a good impact.”
USA World Cup 2026 fixtures and schedule
The USA head to San Francisco to face Bosnia, with the winners of that match taking on the victors in the last-32 game between the winners of Group G and a third-placed team from Group A, H, I or J.
Here’s when the game takes place. Asterisk denotes match starting the previous day in that territory.
| Date | Start time (BST) | ET | PT |
| Thursday, July 2 | 01:00 | 20:00* | 17:00* |
