The appointment of Emma Hayes turned the tide for the USWNT after a period of subpar performances. The arrival of the European coach worked well for the team, winning their fifth Olympic gold medal. Therefore, the appointment of Mauricio Pochettino for the USMNT looks like an ambitious signing. He really runs a tight ship wherever he has managed.

Therefore, USWNT legend Carli Lloyd showed her excitement and explained how it is time for the players to get out of their comfort zone. She wants him to follow the Emma Hayes model. During the last stages of her career, Lloyd criticized the mentality inside the USWNT camp by stating the team looked “disjointed.”

Therefore, she wants Pochettino to motivate the team to victory, as the 2026 FIFA World Cup is just around the corner!

Carli Lloyd wants an Emma Hayes management style from Mauricio Pochettino!

In her interview with Alexi Lalas, she stated, “I think that [the USMNT] sort of needs an Emma-esque, no BS coach that comes in on their side and holds everybody accountable pushes everybody and kind of resets everything.” Lloyd examined the various issues she saw in the team after the bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics 2020. Notably, she came in hard with criticisms about the team’s mentality and coaching by being one of the senior players on the team. Well, some people didn’t like what they heard.

After all the confusion, Emma Hayes returned to reset the USWNT. She first dropped the legendary Alex Morgan, which shocked many. Possessing a front three of Trinity Rodman, Sophia Smith and Mallory Swanson, the Triple Espresso scored at least three goals each. Naomi Girma was a rock at the back, allowing virtually no goals. Thus, she detailed Emma Hayes’ blueprint, which led the team to success.

“I mean Emma clearly has been wanting to, you know, treat people as human beings with the U.S. women’s national team and get to know players and all of those things and you know, I would imagine she has a good balance of that. But also pushing the players and or anything. It was just the vibe that I had where I just didn’t think that these players were being pushed. I thought it was too comfortable,” mentioned Lloyd.

With Mauricio Pochettino at the helm, the USMNT can’t get it wrong. His tight pragmatic system might be painful to enjoy, for some, but it delivers results. And it is something the USMNT needs – STRUCTURE!

Most of his teams run to the ground with his intense pressing and counterattacking soccer. With Christian Pulisic, Giovanni Reyna, and Folarin Balogun, the USMNT will have players heading to their prime. Therefore, he is possibly the right man for the job.