Mauricio Pochettino threw out the ceremonial first pitch in Seattle before the Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays game on Friday, July 3, 2026. Is the US still in the World Cup remains the question hanging over the public appearance, because the same weekend also carried World Cup round of 32 images from California.
Seattle Mariners and Toronto Blue Jays
Pochettino is the head coach of the United States men’s national soccer team, so the baseball stop placed him in front of a crowd far from the soccer field. The moment came ahead of July Fourth and turned a routine ceremonial pitch into a visible crossover between the United States men’s national soccer team and the summer sports calendar.
The setting was Seattle, and the game involved the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays. That much is clear from the Friday date and the pregame role Pochettino handled, with no extra ceremony attached to the appearance beyond the first pitch itself.
World Cup round of 32
Two days earlier, the United States was shown in World Cup round of 32 action against Bosnia in Santa Clara, Calif., near San Francisco. Tim Ream controlled the ball in one image, while Folarin Balogun celebrated with Sergino Dest after scoring in another.
Balogun also received a red card, and Christian Pulisic stood by after that moment. Those images give the baseball appearance a sharper edge: the same coach who stepped onto a mound in Seattle was tied, through the weekend’s published action, to a team in knockout-stage World Cup play.
The complication is the one readers will care about most. The images place the United States in the World Cup round of 32, but they do not show whether the team advanced or whether that run ended there. Did the United States win its World Cup round of 32 match against Bosnia and remain in the tournament?
