Mauricio Pochettino plays Lainey Wilson song ahead of FIFA World Cup match vs. Turkey

The US men’s national team has emerged as one of the most exciting squads to watch in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Last week, the USMNT faced one of its greatest hurdles in the tournament against Australia. While the Americans were still favored to win the match, the team took the pitch without their best player in Christian Pulisic.

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Pulisic was sidelined by a calf injury, but the USMNT had no problem taking down Australia to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament with a 2–0 win. Moreover, the victory gave the US a plus-five goal differential over its Group D opponents.

It was a historic moment for Team USA, a national team that had not won consecutive matches at a World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1930.

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino, from Argentina, delivered a heartfelt statement surrounding the team’s win over Australia.

“Today, even if I am not American, after the game I was emotional,” Pochettino told reporters after the match.

“The fans were amazing. The warm reception in the way that they support us, in the way they celebrated the victory, they make it very emotional. The players were very emotional, too. I think it was an amazing and perfect connection between the energy from stands and the team.”

Pochettino has seemingly continued to immerse himself into US culture as the 54-year-old posted a video to Instagram of himself listening to a song from country artist Lainey Wilson while he prepared for the team’s training sessions.

“Training Prep with american vibes @laineywilson,” Pochettino wrote in the post.

This is Pochettino’s first World Cup stint as head coach of the USMNT. He was given the role in August 2024 and has fully capitalized on working with a talented group of athletes.

Pochettino is a major part of the country’s newfound belief in the USMNT. His leadership has given Americans hope for the squad’s success in the 2026 World Cup.

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