USMNT Must Win Hearts as Well as a Last-32 Tie Against Bosnia
The United States men’s national team step into the World Cup last 32 on Wednesday against Bosnia and Herzegovina carrying a task that goes well beyond the ninety minutes. According to a feature in The Guardian, the game represents an opportunity for Mauricio Pochettino’s squad to deliver the kind of memorable moment that can cut through the noise of a relentlessly distracted American sports culture.
The US topped their group with victories over Paraguay and Australia, but a 3-2 loss to Turkey in the final group game — played with a heavily rotated side — took some shine off the campaign. Pochettino grew notably irritated when journalists questioned his decision to rest starters for that match, and later apologised for remarks in which he pointed out that his team had won the group without receiving much credit for it.
The broader picture The Guardian paints is of a coach who arrived in the job underestimating how much rebuilding was required. Pochettino himself admitted as much last week: “We were so naive. We misjudged the situation. It was worse than we really believed.” That realisation came roughly six months in, following a Nations League finals in which the USA lost to both Panama and Canada.
His predecessor Gregg Berhalter had faced similar problems. Senior players told him during the 2024 Copa América — where the US exited in the group stage — that the squad lacked intensity. Berhalter later conceded he had leaned too heavily on the same group of players even when form had dipped.
Pochettino’s response was to spend the following year effectively deconstructing and rebuilding the same squad, shaking up the competition for places and demanding more from his key men. The result, in his telling, is a team revived around the principles of high pressing, rapid transitions and relentless energy — what he repeatedly calls the will “to fight”.
For UK football fans tracking the tournament, the subplot is a familiar one: an international coach wrestling with a talent pool that looks better on paper than it performs on the pitch. Whether Pochettino has genuinely solved the problem will become clearer against Bosnia.
With the knockout rounds now under way, you can follow all the action on our World Cup 2026 hub and keep up with the live standings as the last-16 picture develops.