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Head coach Mauricio Pochettino helped lead the U.S. men\u2019s national team to a first-place finish in Group D and a round-of-32 victory over Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Manu Fernandez\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
The United States\u2019 Christian Pulisic, top center, and teammates listen to head coach Mauricio Pochettino, bottom center, during a hydration break during the World Cup Group D soccer match between the United States and Australia in Seattle on June 19.<\/p>\n
Maddy Grassy\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
U.S. men’s national team\u00a0head coach\u00a0Mauricio Pochettino celebrates with his team after the FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-32 victory Wednesday over Bosnia-Herzegovina\u00a0at Levi’s Stadium.<\/p>\n
Julio Cortez\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
U.S. men’s national team\u00a0head coach\u00a0Mauricio Pochettino celebrates with fans after the FIFA World Cup 2026 round-of-32 victory Wednesday over Bosnia-Herzegovina at Levi’s Stadium.<\/p>\n
Julio Cortez\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
United States men\u2019s national soccer team head coach Mauricio Pochettino throws out the ceremonial first pitch before a baseball game between the Seattle Mariners and the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday in Seattle.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Lindsey Wasson\/Associated Press<\/p>\n
Maybe it took the influx of the world \u2014 48 soccer teams, thousands of foreign visitors and first- through seventh-generation American immigrants all proudly raising our origin flags \u2014 for our country to show its best self.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The cynic (hand raised) felt this was a grim time to be hosting the world\u2019s greatest sporting event. Our government has an official policy of hatred toward immigrants, using a federal bullhorn warning the world to stay away, sowing fear and vilifying outsiders.<\/p>\n
Yet, here we are, staging \u2014 and profiting \u2014 off the globe\u2019s great coming together: the World Cup.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Still, as we spent the weekend celebrating the 250th anniversary of this beautiful and fragile experiment, the outwardly silly game of kicking a ball around an expanse of grass has brought out the beauty of this country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Instead of exposing our fractures, it has become a needed reminder of the very best of us. The very heart of us.<\/p>\n
The embrace of newcomers and underdogs. The cheering on of different countries. The adoption of a nation like Algeria in a town like Lawrence, Kan. The thrill of learning new traditions, trying new languages, bridging gaps. Of changing perceptions.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n And maybe it took an outsider, a man learning about America on the fly, to give voice to what is possible in this country when we come together.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Mauricio Pochettino became the winningest World Cup coach in American history on Wednesday night at Levi\u2019s Stadium. A pretty amazing statistic for a coach who has been on the job less than two years, and a testament to the United States\u2019 meager World Cup accomplishments.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now the U.S. team takes on Belgium in the round of 16 in Seattle, with the chance to win a second knockout game in a single World Cup for the first time. The team will be without its star striker Folarin Balogun, sitting out due to a controversial red card<\/a>, but for the first time, the country has full belief that its national team coach knows what he\u2019s doing. So far he has pushed all the right buttons. \u201cIn Poch we trust\u201d is the new American motto.<\/p>\n The man who declares himself \u201c200% Argentine\u201d confessed to not knowing much about the United States before he took the job in the fall of 2024. But, as so often is the case, someone looking from the outside recognizes what is different and possible about America.<\/p>\n<\/a>
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