Mauricio Pochettino is days away from leading the United States men's national team at the 2026 World Cup.
The USA played their final warm-up game against Germany this weekend, with their first group stage match coming up on Friday.
Pochettino's side have been given a favourable draw alongside Paraguay, Australia and Turkey in Group D.
However, the USMNT will need to overcome a worrying statistic from Pochettino's tenure to reach the latter stages.
Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images
The USA played well against Germany on Saturday, but they still suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Soldier Field.
Unfortunately, the result cannot be overlooked because Pochettino's record against European teams is abysmal.
The USMNT have lost all five games they have played against European sides during Pochettino's tenure.
Those fixtures have often not been particularly close, scoring four goals and conceding 15.
While Germany and Portugal are among the world's best teams, Belgium, Switzerland and Turkey should all be on the USA's level.
This suggests the USA may have a mental problem when facing teams from football's dominant continent.
It also means Pochettino's team have a major obstacle to overcome this summer, given that they play Turkey in Group D.
The USA are also likely to play Belgium and/or Germany in the knockout rounds if they advance past the group stage.
The reality is that the USMNT's success at this World Cup will depend on their results against European teams.
We can only hope that Pochettino's dismal record is just a coincidence and that it completely turns around at this summer's tournament.
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