Mauricio Pochettino Tactics At USMNT 2025: Why Team USA Are Underperforming Under Poch – Tactical Analysis

The United States Men’s National Team is gearing up for the first FIFA World Cup on home soil since 1994, with the most talented roster they’ve ever had. 

Football in the United States has come a very long way since they last hosted the 1994 World Cup.

No longer is the USMNT relying solely on MLS players to try and compete with the world’s best.

Instead, Team USA now has players playing in all of Europes top leagues including:

• Christian Pulisic at AC Milan
• Yunus Musah at AC Milan
• Antonee Robinson at Fulham
• Weston McKennie at Juventus
• Gio Reyna at Borussia Dortmund
• Chris Richards at Crystal Palace
• Folarin Balogun at AS Monaco
• Tyler Adams at Bournemouth

With a strong talent pool in place, the next step was to hire an elite manager who could take the US to the next level and compete with Germany, England, Argentina, etc.

The man chosen for the job was Mauricio Pochettino. 

The Argentine brought Tottenham Hotspur to heights their fans had never even dreamed of, having them on the doorstep of a UEFA Champions League title in 2019.

He then went on to manage both PSG and Chelsea, so he has a wealth of experience and the highest pedigree of any manager to have led the USMNT. 

It’s been an interesting start to his tenure, marked by a loss in the semi-final of the CONCACAF Nations League to Panama and a recent defeat in the Gold Cup Final to Mexico. 

Even with the talent level at an all-time high, and despite the successes in those two competitions, the United States crashed out of the group stage of the Copa América last summer on home soil. 

While U.S. fans are excited, the results haven’t been there, and now the Stars & Stripes won’t be playing a non-friendly match until the World Cup kicks off next summer. 

In this article, we’ll examine Mauricio Pochettino tactics with the USMNT so far and the statistical differences between the USMNT under Gregg Berhalter and Pochettino. 

USMNT Build-Up Under Mauricio Pochettino

Early on, under Pochettino, he was building up in his usual 3-2-5 formation, using a double pivot in the midfield and allowing the right back to push forward to the last line of defence. 

Recently, however, in the Gold Cup, he put more faith in Chris Richards and Tim Ream, switching to a 2-3-5 formation, as shown in the example below against Guatemala, which allows both full-backs to push high and wide to provide width.