JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The U.S. men's national soccer team could make history tonight when it faces Turkey in the FIFA World Cup. The American men have never won more than two games at a World Cup, yet they're now poised to do so thanks, in large part, to their head coach. NPR's Becky Sullivan has his story.
BECKY SULLIVAN, BYLINE: In 2024, Mauricio Pochettino was looking for a job. With a resume like his, it wasn't going to be hard to find one. As a defender, he played in top leagues in Spain and France and in the 2002 World Cup. Then as a coach, he had managed some of the sport's most recognizable clubs - Tottenham, Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain. Yet somehow he was enticed to take a job that many in the soccer world saw as a step down in prestige.
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CINDY PARLOW CONE: Wow. This is a monumental day for U.S. soccer. And I...
SULLIVAN: The job of head coach of the U.S. Men's National Team. Long the supposed sleeping giant of international soccer that could never seem to wake up, the task was so tall that even Pochettino himself acknowledged it with some of his very first words on the job.
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MAURICIO POCHETTINO: I am really happy to be here because I see it as an amazing project and challenge that we have ahead.
SULLIVAN: That project and challenge ahead was, of course, what's happening now, the World Cup here on home soil, a once-in-a-generation opportunity. The stakes were through the roof, yet the team had been stumbling. Now here was this big-name, hotshot coach to turn it all around. Yet could he really do it with less than two years to go?
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #1: For the first time, the United States will not win the Concacaf Nations League.
SULLIVAN: Honestly, early last year, it seemed like the answer might be no.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #2: And Turkey, with two goals in 2 minutes, have the lead.
SULLIVAN: The team had an ugly string of losses - four in a row - as heard here on TNT and CBS Sports.
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UNIDENTIFIED ANNOUNCER #3: A night to forget in Nashville for Mauricio Pochettino's side, beaten by four goals to nil.
SULLIVAN: At that moment, the idea of a deep run in the World Cup felt like a fantasy. Still, in press conference after press conference, Pochettino explained, when you're building toward something, the process doesn't always look pretty.
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POCHETTINO: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: "It's hard work, and slow work, too," he said then.
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POCHETTINO: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: "Like the work of an ant, little step by little step." Pochettino is from Argentina, a country that lives and breathes soccer, where players are desperate, he says, to represent the national team.
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POCHETTINO: (Non-English language spoken).
SULLIVAN: "The Argentinian player takes every call-up as if it's the World Cup final, as if it's their last opportunity to prove themselves," he said. "And if you could get American players to feel that way too," he added, "the sky's the limit."
To accomplish that, Pochettino set a new baseline. Nobody's spot is guaranteed. In the 18 months running up to the World Cup, he invited more than 70 players to camp and made everyone compete, no matter their seniority or their club team. That process turned up several new guys who ultimately made the World Cup roster, including a couple starters, and it changed the way the players saw themselves and each other, says midfielder Tyler Adams.
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TYLER ADAMS: Culture improves through winning. Culture improves through competition. Bringing in players that hadn't been in the fold and competing to make sure that no one's getting comfortable is something that we had to not learn, but there's a respect level for every single person that comes in and around the group, and everyone feels included. I think that's important.
SULLIVAN: And Pochettino's approach has translated to a new personality for the team on the field, too, says forward Timothy Weah.
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TIMOTHY WEAH: I would say that South American grit. You know, we're always the good guys, always the nice guys. Now he's teaching us to kind of be, you know, the bad guys.
SULLIVAN: Now two games into the World Cup, the Americans are undefeated and have already clinched their spot in the knockout round. Suddenly, the expectations have grown - a quarter-final, maybe more. Defender Mark McKenzie says, finally the outside world sees what Pochettino has convinced them to believe all along.
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MARK MCKENZIE: It's a process. It's not going to be figured out overnight. It's not going to be figured out in one camp or sometimes in six months or 12 months, maybe not as fast as everybody wanted to. But, you know, within this group, we have a whole staff and group of players who knew and had the belief that we could honestly accomplish what we set our minds to.
SULLIVAN: Soon, Pochettino's time with the U.S. could be coming to a close. His contract is up after the World Cup. He says he hasn't ruled out a return to U.S. soccer, but it wouldn't be a surprise if he left, either. But for now, it's time to enjoy the ride, and the fruits of his labor are, as he'd say, the work of the ant.
Becky Sullivan, NPR News, Los Angeles.
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