Mauricio Pochettino’s impact has been clear in the USA’s 4-1 win over Paraguay, with a high-pressing, attacking style and a mentality shift that urges the squad to stop acting like underdogs. Haiti are set to be Scotland’s opponents in World Cup 2026’s opening
Scotland’s first World Cup game since 1998 is now on the horizon — and the opponent is Haiti.
Haiti v Scotland is set as the headline pairing for the tournament’s opening moments, a fixture that lands with fresh significance simply because of how long Scotland have waited to return to football’s biggest stage.
But as Scotland prepare for that long-awaited start, the spotlight has also swung to the USA, where Mauricio Pochettino’s fingerprints are suddenly hard to miss.
Pochettino was appointed USA coach 20 months ago. His job. by the account of his remit. was to change a side that was often capable of getting out of the group stage — but almost never beyond it. That goal was always going to be more than tactical; it needed the sort of confidence that turns “possible” into “expected.”.
Against Paraguay, the change looked tangible. The USA played a high-pressing, attacking style of football that Paraguay could not live with. It wasn’t just pressure for pressure’s sake. The team pushed forward with intent, forcing opponents into a rhythm they couldn’t manage.
There was also the matter of who Pochettino could work with. In his camp. 17 of the 26 players play in Europe’s top five leagues. with seven of those players in the Premier League. Talent was already there — the question was whether it could be assembled into something cohesive enough to move past old limits.
Pochettino has also shifted the squad’s mental posture. He has encouraged them to shed the belief that they are underdogs, and to instead assume they belong among the elite — capable of going not just far, but actually winning the World Cup.
“Why not us?” he said earlier this year. “We need to really believe that we can be there. We need to dream.”
The USA’s 4-1 victory over Paraguay will not be the final test of whether they can win the tournament. Pochettino’s performance can only carry so far against teams stronger than Paraguay. Still, it’s the kind of showing that changes how fans picture the next phase.
For supporters, it offers something concrete to hold onto — the possibility of staying in step with their best-ever kind of run. The article’s point is clear: it could help the USA believe they can, at the very least, match their run to the quarter-finals in 2002.
There’s also a longer story behind why the appointment matters. Ashley Williams, an ex-Wales defender speaking on Match of the Day, said that the United States brought in Pochettino with this tournament in mind after failing to deliver in past World Cups.
“They have also got a set of players you expect to go far in this tournament, so the expectation will be massive,” Williams said.
For the USA, that expectation now lands on home soil — and with Pochettino’s starting point being the belief that the next step is winnable.
If things click with Pochettino and a strong starting 11, the USA can go far. They will look at their group and think they should top it.
The pressure is rising, for Scotland in the doorway of their first World Cup game since 1998, and for the USA as they try to turn a statement win over Paraguay into belief that holds up when the opposition is better.
World Cup 2026 Scotland Haiti USA Mauricio Pochettino Paraguay 4-1 high-pressing quarter-finals 2002 Premier League players Match of the Day