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The U.S. men's national soccer team is at a crossroads. The World Cup is less than two years away, and the U.S. will co-host it. It's a huge opportunity for the team, which just announced its new coach. Mauricio Pochettino is the highest-profile manager the U.S. has ever hired, but he is walking into a challenge, as NPR's Becky Sullivan reports.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: You don't need to be a soccer expert to see it. For the U.S. men's national team, the vibes have been bad.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #1: And it's one-nil for Canada.
SULLIVAN: On Saturday, the team played against Canada, a team that, on paper, is worse than the U.S. But from the opening whistle, the difference in heart between the two was obvious.
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UNIDENTIFIED SPORTSCASTER #2: I'm going to sound like a broken record, but it's just another really poor turnover.
SULLIVAN: Canada won. Afterward, the American players were just glum, including longtime center-back Tim Ream.
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TIM REAM: I think we need to get back to, you know, really taking much more pride in wearing the jersey. There's a certain standard that, you know, we need to hold ourselves to, and we haven't been doing that.
SULLIVAN: The new head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, is arriving at a crucial moment. Although the American men have always been outclassed by teams from Europe and South America, it hasn't always been this bad. The U.S. used to be this plucky underdog - a team that would take things to the wire no matter the opponent, says Kyle Martino, who played for the U.S. in the mid 2000s and is now a soccer analyst for TNT Sports.
KYLE MARTINO: At some point, this default of being a very difficult team to play against, you know, got lost.
SULLIVAN: One culprit could be the drama that happened after the last World Cup in 2022. A decades-old allegation surfaced about then-coach Gregg Berhalter getting in a fight with the woman who is now his wife back when the two were college students. The source, it turned out, was Claudio Reyna, himself a U.S. men's national team alum, whose son, Gio, hadn't gotten very much playing time at the World Cup. U.S. Soccer investigated and ultimately renewed Berhalter's contract, but the drama consumed some serious oxygen, Martino says.
MARTINO: I think that was, it's not profound to say, very disruptive to the momentum that that team had in that moment.
SULLIVAN: The disruption culminated in a disastrous showing at this summer's Copa America tournament. The U.S. had hoped to at least reach the semifinals, but they were bounced in the group stage. Berhalter was fired. Now with Pochettino, U.S. Soccer has made the biggest hire in its history, but it won't be easy for him, Martino says.
MARTINO: Pochettino has got to find a way to reignite and reinstall a culture that used to be there of a team that was obdurate and together and very difficult to beat while simultaneously trying to piece together a very young team full of incredible talent that is dramatically underperforming.
SULLIVAN: Pochettino has coached for years in Europe's top leagues. He's known for his efforts to develop young players and give them opportunities. He helped turn around Tottenham Hotspur and elevated a young Harry Kane, who's now the biggest star in English soccer. Meanwhile, the biggest star in American soccer is Christian Pulisic. Yesterday, after another disappointing result - this time against New Zealand - Pulisic told TNT Sports he just hopes Pochettino can reset the American team's broken culture.
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CHRISTIAN PULISIC: Hopefully a culture that is willing to fight, that is willing to take risks - you know, win. I mean, there's a lot of things that need to change in just the mentality and the culture of the group.
SULLIVAN: The stakes couldn't be higher with the World Cup around the corner. The U.S. last hosted the World Cup in 1994, and it completely transformed the perception of soccer here in the states. But there's still so far to go compared to other places around the world. A big run by the men's team, led by Pochettino, might close that gap.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF MELANIE MARTINEZ SONG, "VOID") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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