Mauricio Pochettino has revealed that he toldDonald Trumpthe U.S. men's national team can win the World Cup on home soil this summer.
The USMNT head coach and U.S. president crossed paths in December at the World Cup draw in Washington, D.C.
Pochettino recounted the meeting during an appearance onthe High Performance Podcast.
"At the draw of the World Cup, I met Donald Trump for a few minutes. He asked me: 'What do you think, coach. Can you win the World Cup?'
"I said, 'Of course, Mr. President.' Because it's the USA. The American dream is there. The American culture is about being first, being number one. When we accepted the challenge to go there it's because we really believe that we can win.
"After a year and a half working there, people start to feel that we can win. The last few camps in October and November, we competed against very good teams and we started to show that possibility to perform well."
Photos show Trump and celebs gather for 2026 World Cup draw
He added: "We are going to have the support of a massive country and all its fans. To try and push us to run, score goals, and make tackles. I think that will be a massive boost for us."
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The USMNT had an excellent end to 2025, winning four of its last five matches including a 5-1 thrashing of Uruguay in its last game of the year.
Pochettino's side has been drawn into Group D alongside Australia, Paraguay and a European team yet to be determined.
Should it advance, the U.S. would move onto the knockout stage where it would have to win five consecutive matches to take home the World Cup.
In its entire history, the USMNT has won just one World Cup knockout match.
Pochettino's right-hand man, assistant coach Jesus Perez, also appeared on the podcast and said that the team lacked "basics" when the pair took over in the fall of 2024.
"We found that there was a lack of basics for whatever reason," Perez said. "They (the USMNT) were in a transition.
"What we did was assess things and implement our vision. We didn't go there to teach anyone, to show them how to do things. Just to convince a group of players and staff that we can be competitive."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Mauricio Pochettino told Donald Trump USMNT can win World Cup