Former USMNT boss Bruce Arena critiques USA soccer team’s ‘pride,’ Mauricio Pochettino’s fit

While it’s no secret that the United States men’s national team have been in less than ideal form recently, losing their last two matches to Panama and Canada during Concacaf Nations League play, former USMNT manager Bruce Arena isn’t happy with the appointment of coach Mauricio Pochettino. The Argentine was appointed in August of 2024 to lead the United States to the 2026 World Cup after Gregg Berhalter crashed out of the Copa America during the group stage, but so far, fortunes haven’t changed for the Red, White, and Blue.

On the “Unfiltered Soccer” podcast hosted by Tim Howard and Landon Donovan, Arena talked about Pochettino’s need to learn the culture while taking over the USMNT.

“You know if you look at every national team in the world, the coach is usually a domestic coach,” Arena said. “And I think when you have coaches that don’t know our culture, our environment, our players, it’s hard. I’m sure our coach is a very good coach, but coaching international football is different than club football. It’s a completely different job.

“If you ask me if we lack pride, well, I’m watching and I’m shocked. I’m shocked we can’t beat Panama and Canada. It was shocking to me.”  

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While this is Pochettino’s first international role after managing Chelsea in the Premier League, part of why only domestic coaches usually manage international teams is that only eight nations have ever won the World Cup —  Brazil, Germany, Italy, Argentina, France, Uruguay, England, and Spain. Every other nation is looking to catch up to those sides, and it has been one of the reasons why Argentine managers are more prevalent than ever, given the success of their international sides and club teams managed by them.

“And I think when you’re a national team coach, you need to know your environment, you need to know the animals you coach, and we’re lacking that. If you’re an American coaching the U.S. team, you know the culture,” Arena continued. “You know the pride and how important the national team is. I think when you bring in somebody from the outside, they don’t understand it, especially in our country, because we’re so different.”

The players do need to fight for the badge, but both players like Tyler Adams and Pochettino himself have called the team out. Similar concerns came up in the past when Jürgen Klinsmann was bringing in dual-national players, and it was claimed that some of them didn’t care about the badge as much as those born in the United States. As soccer has continued to grow in the United States, it has only become more likely to add dual-national players, and they’ve become some of the most talented players on this roster.

Antonee Robinson, Sergino Dest, Yunus Musah, and Folarin Balogun have all switched allegiances to represent the USMNT and become some of the most critical players on the roster. This has been a rough period for the USMNT, and they’ve earned some of the criticism coming their way, but it only makes the upcoming Gold Cup more important. This is a team that is expected to win every Concacaf competition in sight, and if they aren’t doing that, the criticism will only continue to mount ahead of a critical World Cup on home soil.