Ethan Sears Fresh-faced USMNT giving Mauricio Pochettino everything he lacked at World Cup By Ethan Sears Published Oct. 7, 2026, 7:09 p.m. ET United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino retrieves a game ball in the second half against Canada. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect Lost amid the anger and the Folarin Balogun-related outrage amid the national postmortem following the World Cup was that, not counting a meaningless group-stage finale, Mauricio Pochettino made just one change to his starting 11 across the U.S. team’s other four World Cup games.
That change, starting Ricardo Pepi against Australia, happened because Christian Pulisic was unavailable due to injury.
And the best thing you can say about the team’s kid-fueled four straight wins in the international window that wrapped up Tuesday night with a victory over Canada is that the past two weeks marked a significant step toward solving the depth issue that hung over them all summer.
The best 11 for the U.S. is no longer a fait accompli, and should the Americans face adversity in the CONCACAF Nations League that starts next month with a two-leg quarterfinal against Haiti, the manager won’t feel like his bench can’t turn a game in his favor.
