Mauricio Pochettino put Sebastian Berhalter and the U.S. on title-level footing after the 4-1 win over Paraguay, saying the group should think beyond survival at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. He framed the tournament as a stage where belief has to match the scoreline.
“We should dream without limits,” Pochettino said. He added, “Why not us?” after the U.S. men’s national team opened the tournament with a 4-1 win last week, a result that gave his words a sharper edge before USMNT vs Australia.
Murphy, Argentina to the U.S.
Pochettino’s message fits the path he has lived. He grew up in Murphy, Argentina, a town of 4,000 nearly five hours west of Buenos Aires and two hours south of Rosario, and studied agriculture at a school 13 miles from his house. That route did not lead straight to a World Cup dugout; it led through the kind of long climb that makes hard ceilings feel optional.
He later played in a World Cup as a player with Argentina, then coached Tottenham Hotspur to a Champions League final. At Paris Saint-Germain, he worked with Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, a stretch that put him around some of the sharpest attacking talent in the game.
Belief after Paraguay
The U.S. has already given him a result to point to. The 4-1 win over Paraguay last week opened the tournament and gave Pochettino a clean starting point for a belief-first message that has been part of his approach for three days of buildup since that match.
He has used the same theme before. The day his World Cup roster was announced last month, he said, “I think it’s important to believe.” In the same span, he asked, “Why not us?” and tied the team’s ceiling to what it chooses to imagine before it steps onto the field.
Usa Vs Australia heats up as Sebastian Berhalter fires back before Group D now sits inside that frame. The next test will show whether the U.S. can carry a 4-1 opener into a game that asks for the same edge, the same control and the same conviction Pochettino keeps demanding.
