“I’m very honest, I think the target is the quarterfinals.” Nothing but Mauricio Pochettino revealing the realistic goals for the USMNT in the 2026 World Cup during his conversation with Gary Neville on The Overlap US. From bold claims like “We have to believe that we can win” on the day of the Argentine tactician’s arrival, this is at least an honest assessment of what the USSF considers a successful World Cup campaign. However, achieving this might be challenging, as Pochettino still has a lot of ‘work to do.’

Supposing that they can lift the Golden Trophy is something the Star and Stripes have to do to build a strong mindset. But speaking about realistic expectations, forget the last eight; making the round of 16 would come across as an enormous challenge for the American boys, according to Jimmy Conrad. Speaking on the CBS Sports Golazo America’s Call It What You Want podcast, the former USMNT defender had some warning calls to make for Pochettino.

“You have the Round of 32, then you have the Round of 16, and then the quarterfinals. We have to double our historical total of ever in knockout wins in this upcoming tournament. Now on paper, we should have a manageable opponent in the Round of 32. Round of 16, it’s gonna get sticky. So yeah, we still got some work to do,” said Conrad.

Finishing third in the 1930 inaugural World Cup was likely the best position the USMNT has secured, despite being thrashed 1-6 by Argentina in the semifinals. In the 1934 campaign, they were eliminated in the round of 16 before withdrawing from the 1938 edition. Post-World War II, the team struggled, failing to progress past the group stage in the 1950s and not qualifying for the tournament between 1954 and 1986.

Since 1990, the USMNT has had a mix of World Cup performances, reaching the round of 16 three times (1994, 2010, 2014) and exiting in the group stage twice (1990, 1998). Another standout achievement of theirs during this period was reaching the quarterfinals in 2002. Meanwhile, having failed to qualify in 2018, they made a return in 2022 only to secure another round of 16 finish.

Clearly, the goal that Pochettino and his team have set for the 2026 World Cup is something the USMNT hasn’t achieved in over two decades. Even though this surely levels up the challenges for them, rightly so, Pochettino looks prepared for whatever may come.

Forget players, Mauricio Pochettino won’t spare even the USMNT fans!

Even though leading the USMNT to the quarterfinals is a big challenge for Mauricio Pochettino, his attitude suggests he may do more than just get the job done. The former Tottenham boss had a message for the USMNT players declaring, “We need to believe we can win. Not win just a game, but to win the World Cup. We want players to arrive on day 1 thinking big.”

That’s not all the 52-year-old further acknowledged that fans and the players won’t be receiving nice treatment from him. He rather wants them to adjust to his sincerity and the hard nature of the “It’s a great opportunity to think big. That is why we are here eh?” added the former Chelsea boss.

Indeed, quite reassuring words from the new USMNT manager right?