The U.S. men’s national team walked off the field with a 2-1 win over Australia on Thursday, but the real story might have been what happened after the final whistle. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino was doing a post-game interview with Fox Sports when the crowd behind him started chanting his name. Loud. Repeatedly. And he didn’t try to stop them.
“POCHETTINO, POCHETTINO, POCHETTINO!” the fans yelled, drowning out parts of the interview. The Argentine manager, who took over the USMNT in late 2024, just smiled and kept talking. It was the kind of raw, unscripted moment that tells you something about where this team is right now.
The win that got them there
This wasn’t a pretty, dominant performance. It was a grind. The U.S. got on the board early when Australia knocked the ball into their own net in the 11th minute. Alex Freeman doubled the lead in the 43rd minute, and that was enough to hold off a second-half push from the Socceroos. It was physical, messy at times, and exactly the kind of game you need to win if you want to go deep in a tournament.
The result punched the USMNT’s ticket to the knockout round. They’ve got a real shot at winning Group D too, depending on what happens when Paraguay plays Turkey on Friday. But for now, the energy is all about what this group is building.
Pochettino on the fans: ‘We are matching Argentina’
Pochettino compared the U.S. fanbase to Argentina’s earlier in the week, and after this game, he doubled down. “Amazing,” he told Fox. “I was saying yesterday Argentina have amazing fans, but I think we are matching Argentina. It’s amazing, our fans. I am so happy for them.”
He also called the game “fantastic” and said the team dominated a very tough opponent. That’s coach-speak, sure, but the guy wasn’t wrong. The U.S. controlled long stretches of the first half and didn’t fold when Australia pressed late.
What’s next: the USMNT faces Turkey next Thursday. If they win the group, the path forward looks a lot cleaner. If not, they’re still alive but the margin for error shrinks. Either way, Pochettino has this team playing with a swagger that fans are clearly buying into.
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