A football team’s success is often shaped not just by its players, but by the brilliance of its manager. Take, for example, Jose Mourinho who took teams like Porto, Inter Milan, and AS Roma to European silverware. So when Mauricio Pochettino, the former Chelsea boss took over as manager for the USMNT, expectations soared, and while the optimism was high, there’s a lot of work that the Argentine coach needs to do, to call his tenure successful. 

Former USMNT star, Taylor Twellman believes that even though Pochettino has, what some would say is the golden generation of American soccer, there are still big gaps that need to be filled. While his ultimate test remains the 2026 World Cup taking place in North America, the ex-New England Revolution player hopes that it’s enough time for Pochettino to fix the caveat. 

“Mauricio Pochettino is the highest, most established manager that the USMNT has ever had, and yet I still feel like time is of the essence and it’s gonna be difficult,” said Twellman on ‘The Rich Eisen Show’ ahead of the MLS Cup Final. Pochettino’s first test will be to win the CONCACAF Nations League for a fourth consecutive time before shifting focus to the World Cup. 

“There’s two things that concern me right now, we have no clue who the center-back tandem pair will be at the World Cup, that’s a concern for me,” said Twellman who expressed his concerns over center-back Tim Ream’s suitability for the squad, considering he will be 39 by the time the World Cup arrives.

“We don’t know who our (no.) 9 is, we got 3 or 4 options but we haven’t had someone to solidify that” added Twellman, considering Ricardo Pepi’s strong performance in the absence of the injured AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun. Additionally, once Josh Sargent recovers from injury, he will also be in the mix for the forward position. However, Pochettino now has a different concern. 

No Captain America for Mauricio Pochettino?

During AC Milan’s 1-2 loss to Atalanta at Gewiss Stadium, Christian Pulisic was substituted in the 38th minute of the match and went straight down the tunnel. This comes after Pulisic was fouled by Mario Pašalić in the 32nd minute and went down in pain, grabbing his ankle. The American was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek. 

The Rossoneri are awaiting test results to assess the severity of Christian Pulisic’s injury, hoping he won’t be sidelined for too long as his role this season has been crucial. The USMNT camp is equally concerned as Pulisic recently became the fastest American to reach 50 goal contributions. 

The USMNT has until March before they play their next leg of international games. Pochettino will be hopeful that key players return from injury and with time ahead of the World Cup, perhaps the American will have a new influx of young talent joining their camps. Only time will tell!