SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Mauricio Pochettino doesn’t want his players thinking about the big picture. Not the trophy. Not the legacy. Not what happens if they win or lose. He wants them thinking about one thing and one thing only: the next 90 minutes.
On the eve of the U.S. men’s national team’s Round of 32 matchup against Bosnia and Herzegovina, the head coach made it clear that Wednesday’s game is not just another step in a larger journey. It’s everything.
“Tomorrow is a Final,” Pochettino said Tuesday at San Francisco Bay Area Stadium. “The game against Paraguay was a Final. We also tried to translate that message when we played in Chicago against Germany or in Charlotte against Senegal. I tried to create similar feelings and emotion.”
The message is simple but backed by real urgency. The USMNT just wrapped up the best group stage in program history — eight goals scored, a group win secured with a game to spare, and the No. 1 spot in Group D locked up early. But none of that matters now. The knockout rounds erase everything that came before.
And Pochettino knows it. He’s been preparing his team for this moment since he took over in September 2024, scheduling friendlies against top-tier competition in packed stadiums to simulate exactly what they’ll face Wednesday. There’s no World Cup qualifying to build intensity cycle after cycle. So he manufactured it.
Trust the process, then forget it
Pochettino’s approach to knockout soccer leans heavily on preparation followed by instinct. He wants his players to rely on the work they’ve put in and then let the rest happen naturally.
“All that we were working for is the moment tomorrow to apply on the field,” Pochettino said. “They need to be relaxed and not to think. Tomorrow play with intuition and the confidence that all that we were preparing is going to appear on the field.”
Captain Tim Ream has echoed that calmness. The veteran defender told reporters earlier this week that this team feels different from the 2022 World Cup squad that fell to the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Older. More experienced. Less prone to freezing on the big stage.
“The mentality is perfect,” Pochettino added. “We are so, so happy in the way that we have been working from Day 1 when we met in New York. I’ve seen massive, massive improvement if we want to compete and we want to achieve things that sometimes were only in our dreams.”
Injury questions linger, but Christian Pulisic is ready
The U.S. might be missing a few pieces Wednesday. Defender Auston Trusty, who scored against Turkey in the group stage finale, is “much better than we expect” according to Pochettino and could be available pending a final check. The staff is still waiting on updates for center back Mark McKenzie and midfielder Cristian Roldan.
But the big news is Christian Pulisic. The U.S. star told reporters he feels good and is “ready to go” for the knockout opener. He sat out the win over Australia and came off the bench against Turkey, so expect him to be back in the starting XI.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is not a gimme
The knockout rounds have already produced chaos. Four of the first five Round of 32 games were decided by one goal or a penalty shootout. Paraguay, the third-place team from Group D that the U.S. beat 4-1, knocked out Germany. Morocco outlasted the Netherlands on penalties. Japan nearly stunned Brazil.
Bosnia and Herzegovina advanced out of Group B in only its second World Cup appearance. Edin Džeko remains a threat. Ermin Mahmić leads the team with two goals. They’ve got confidence and they’ve got nothing to lose.
“We are seeing already in all the games after the group stage how difficult it is,” Pochettino said. “Not one game was easy for no one. We don’t have another opportunity if we fail. It’s all in.”
The winner gets either Senegal or Belgium in the Round of 16 in Seattle. But nobody in the U.S. camp is looking past Wednesday. Not that Pochettino would let them.
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