United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino has urged his players to remain focused and avoid complacency after securing a place in the FIFA 2026 World Cup knockout stage with a 2-0 victory over Australia on Friday.
- +Pochettino urges US to dream big after historic knockout qualification
An own goal and a header from Alex Freeman sealed the win in Seattle, ensuring the United States progressed to the last 32 with a game to spare.
An own goal and a header from Alex Freeman sealed the win in Seattle, ensuring the United States progressed to the last 32 with a game to spare. It marks the first time the Americans have won their opening two World Cup matches since 1930.
The result has further fuelled excitement among home supporters as the co-hosts continue to exceed expectations at the tournament.
Despite the growing optimism, Pochettino insisted his side must keep their feet on the ground ahead of next week’s Group D clash against Turkey.
“We need to go for the next one. To be sure that we are going to arrive in good condition, as we arrived in the last two games,” Pochettino said.
The former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager stressed the importance of maintaining high standards.
“We need to keep being very tough with ourselves, to push to be better and better every day,” he added.
Pochettino also expressed confidence in the intelligence and maturity of his squad, believing they will not allow their performances to drop after qualifying for the knockout rounds.
“That is part of being intelligent. For me, the IQ of the players that I have in my squad is so high above the average,” he said.
The United States could secure the top spot in Group D if results elsewhere go in their favour, with Turkey needing to avoid defeat against Paraguay later on Friday.
Even if qualification as group winners is confirmed, Pochettino said no decision has yet been made regarding squad rotation for the final group-stage match against Turkey.
“We had a lot of fatigued bodies in the first half, both physically and mentally,” he said.
“I think it’s too early to talk about our decision against Turkey. If we want to win and we want to be one of the good teams, dreaming big, I think we need to talk about the team and not the names.”
As players celebrated with supporters after the final whistle, a jubilant Seattle crowd sang along to Livin’ on a Prayer, reflecting the growing belief that the United States could make a deep run in a tournament featuring favourites such as Spain, France and Argentina.
Pochettino, who has repeatedly challenged his players and supporters to dream big, once again embraced that ambition.
“Why not us?” has become a recurring message from the Argentine coach throughout the tournament.
He also paid tribute to the passionate home support, comparing the atmosphere to that of his native Argentina.
“Amazing. I was saying yesterday Argentina have amazing fans, but I think we are matching Argentina,” Pochettino said.
