Why Mauricio Pochettino wants the USMNT's 'right 26 — not the best' for the World Cup

World Cup roster, Mauricio Pochettino will weigh factors that go beyond soccer ability. Without pure talent, of course, the Americans will not go very far in the 48-team tournament unfolding this summer across North America. Accordingly, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and many other regulars are sure bets for a 26-man squad revealed May 26.

But Pochettino has also said he will select “the right 26 — not the best; the right 26. ” In other words, he is looking to curate a team that functions well both on and off the field — one that will fortify bonds over at least five consecutive weeks at hotels, on buses and jets, and handles the searing pressure of playing in the sport’s greatest spectacle on home soil. Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season The last thing Pochettino wants is a breach like the one involving Gio Reyna and, by extension, Gregg Berhalter’s entire unit at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Over the tournament’s history, multiple teams, notably France in 2010, have been knocked off track by bad chemistry or preventable incidents. “Yes, you want great players who are going to make great plays within the game,” Brad Guzan, a reserve goalkeeper for the 2010 and 2014 U. S.

World Cup teams, told Yahoo Sports. “But the reality is probably not everyone is going to see minutes, and if that's the case, you need to make sure they're going to be able to fit within a team environment and be able to help and contribute in other meaningful ways. ” The USMNT's World Cup roster won't be about talent alone under Mauricio Pochettino.