Pochettino Warns USMNT: Talent Alone Isn’t Enough

The United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) manager Mauricio Pochettino has insisted that he will select his team based on who has the right characteristics, and not just their talent.

The USMNT were left reeling following the disappointing loss to Panama in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinal last month, and also the subsequent 2-1 loss to Canada in the third-place match a few days later. Criticism and questions were laid at mainstay stars such as captain Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie, who gave poor performances.

Now, with the Gold Cup coming up in June, Pochettino insists that he will no longer choose players based on talent — and instead will look for the “right characters.”

Speaking in an interview with the U.S. Soccer Federation, he said, “We need to compete for our flag, our country. What we are trying to do is optimize every area of the pitch. The mentality of the players is very important.”

“We are going to be intelligent about the way we choose our players. We won’t choose based on talent alone, we need to have the right characters to be really competitive.”

Pochettino was unhappy with the lack of effort during the Nations League, and emphasized that his side must increase the intensity in the lead-up to the Gold Cup.

“For sure we must compete hard,” he said, “We must match the intensity of our opponent. In these tournaments, the opponents will always be motivated to play against the U.S. Of course we must perform well to win, and you don’t always get the result — but in order to win, you have to compete.”

He went on to state the importance of mentality, comparing the USMNT to his home country and World Cup winners Argentina, saying: “They [Argentina] go to war over their badge, their flag. That is what we must create.”

Before the start of the Gold Cup, the USMNT will host friendlies against Turkiye and Switzerland on June 7th and 10th, respectively. On June 15th, the Gold Cup group stage will kick off when they play Trinidad and Tobago. Their next two matches in the group stage will be against Saudi Arabia and Haiti.