The passion for Pochettino is on full display

SEATTLE STADIUM — #PochOut.

As recently as last month, this hashtag could be found on social media with more frequency than any reasonable fan of the United States men’s national soccer team would expect.

The Internet is obviously not real life. But in the wake of another thrilling group stage victory at the 2026 FIFA World Cup – a 2-0 triumph over Australia that sent Mauricio Pochettino’s side into the round of 16 with a game to play for the first time in history – it’s fascinating to think about the sometimes downright toxic negativity that, until very recently, has spread far beyond the all-too-online corners of the fan base when it comes to the United States’ top coach.

Pochettino arrived on these shores in late 2024 with a well-deserved reputation as one of the best club managers in world football. He took perennial Premier League underachievers Tottenham Hotspur to the only UEFA Champions League final in their history in 2019. The Argentine won the league and cup titles with Paris Saint-Germain, where he managed both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé. Having left Chelsea by mutual consent after taking the Blues from 12th to sixth in his single season in London, his name was floating around every time a job opened up at marquee clubs across Europe.

The fact that the United States landed him was considered a near miracle; he turned down more money to lead the Americans to their first home World Cup in 32 years.

However, it only took a few bad results for too many supporters of the national team to turn against him, less than a year after he took office. And it wasn’t just the fans.

What began with disheartening defeats to Panama and Canada in the 2025 Concacaf Nations League final reached a low point in September, when South Korea outclassed the United States in a 2-0 defeat in New Jersey.

Pochettino then defended his players passionately, then finished 2025 with a five-match unbeaten streak (four wins and one draw), capped by a 5-1 drubbing of two-time world champions Uruguay in November.

But some fans were calling for his head again in March after decisive defeats to top 10-ranked Belgium and Portugal – the United States’ final tune-ups before Pochettino named his 26-man World Cup roster last month.

Insulated from the noise of their coach, these players never wavered with their confidence. Inside and outside the locker room, the 54-year-old insisted that while fighting and competitiveness were non-negotiable, results didn’t matter until the main event began.

“Someone asked me after the South Korea game what I thought about all this,” U.S. goalie Matt Freese said after posting his first World Cup shutout on Friday. “I immediately said, ‘We all totally believe in it, we all totally support and trust the process he’s outlined.’

“Look at his record, I mean we’ve seen him do it with big teams,” defender Chris Richards added of Pochettino. “He’s very passionate in the way he speaks…we take that passion and we try to apply it to the way we go out.”

This passion was fully demonstrated during this World Cup. The skeptics are now all silent. Seattle fans chanted Pochettino’s name after Friday’s victory during FOX reporter Jenny Taft’s post-match interview. Love is mutual.

“It’s amazing, our fans,” he said of the nearly 70,000 souls in the building, the overwhelming majority of whom were decked out in red, white and blue, almost certainly providing the best home-court advantage Team USA has ever seen.

The message was clear: Pochettino is one of us. He knows that the difficult times of the last two years helped create this unforgettable moment. In fact, he knew what he was doing all along.