Pochettino: I'm Proud, We're Winning Many Fans

USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino expressed his satisfaction after a dominant victory over Paraguay at the World Cup. Playing at home in Los Angeles, the Americans secured a resounding 4-1 win in their opening Group D fixture.

“Things went our way because we executed well,” the coach stated. “We achieved success against a tough opponent like Paraguay. We need to see if we can replicate this performance at the end of the tournament. I’m incredibly proud because I believe we’re winning over many fans in America.”

“The crowd was incredible. This is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. When you talk about America, about this passion, this feeling – today the fans were amazing and they’re realizing that football in America is HUGE. This is truly something big,” he proudly added.

For Pochettino, the result is the culmination of three weeks of hard work, during which he finally had the opportunity to spend quality time with his players. “I desperately wanted to work with the entire squad, and before, we didn’t have that chance. We need to get to know each other, to understand what we expect from them. We have few days to bring them together. We can only select players, not train them. In tournaments like the World Cup, you have 3-4 weeks of preparation, and that’s the only time you can train properly,” the Argentine explained.

Regarding Christian Pulisic’s substitution at halftime, the former Tottenham manager clarified that the player felt discomfort after taking two heavy blows in the first half, leading to the decision to replace him as a precautionary measure.

Pochettino reflected on his journey as a national team coach to date. “Since October last year, with victories against Paraguay and Uruguay (in friendly matches), the team began to develop a specific identity, with the characteristics we desire. March was difficult; circumstances weren’t ideal with those who couldn’t join. You depend on their form. March is always a complicated month; we played against Portugal and Belgium and lost. Then we had two very important matches: Senegal, the African champions, and Germany, who are always contenders to win the World Cup. Our performance in those two games made us believe that today we could play a good match,” he added.