Mauricio Pochettino cut a frustrated figure as he appeared to row with journalists – despite his United States national team pulling off a historic victory against Uruguay.
The USMNT beat their South American opponents 5-1, claiming their largest victory against a non-Concacaf opponent since 2011, with four goals scored without reply in the first-half alone.
But the former Tottenham head coach seemed unable to immediately focus on his team’s positives in the aftermath of the friendly fixture, instead apparently agitated by a question over his squad rotation.
The Argentine manager has fielded a not-insignificant 71 different players during his just-over one-year tenure in the United States, and overseen a somewhat patchy record of 13 wins, seven losses, and two draws.
When it was put to him in a lengthy question that he did not have ‘regular players’ as such, Pochettino immediately hit back at the reporter, asking rhetorically: ‘Who are the regular players?’
As the journalist attempted to clarify his question, the 53-year-old interrupted, saying: ‘My question is, maybe we need to stop the press conference and I need to go to dressing room, come back, and start the press conference again.
‘Because it’s like we were the opposite, losing 5-1. I am the USA coach, not the janitor.
‘Tell me which regular player we are talking about, because I don’t understand what regular player means?’
The reporter suggested that he meant ‘more experienced’, prompting Pochettino to question: ‘Which? Which?
‘We need to talk about that to congratulate the player. I don’t know if they’re listening to the press conference, a player feels they’re not a regular player, they play and they did well – if I am the player, I am disappointed by that.
‘To be honest, I am tired and maybe I don’t understand the English. But I’m very disappointed in the first two questions, because I don’t know what you expect I am going to say?’
Pochettino appeared to let the pressure of his job tell in his response to the press, as he gears up to oversee the team’s home World Cup travails in just over six months’ time.
But despite patches of rockiness marking his initial 12 months in charge, the ex-Chelsea boss stressed that he is on the right path to ensuring his squad share the right spirit heading into 2026.
‘What I really appreciate from the team, and all of the staff, is in the way that we start to connect together,’ Pochettino added. ‘and that is the most important (thing) to arrive at the World Cup and to have a chance to challenge all of the big teams.
‘It’s how the team behaves. Nine changes from Paraguay, but we keep the idea, the philosophy, the faith, the fight, the togetherness’.
Pochettino was forced to double down on his commitment to the national team after speculation was rife at the start of the summer that the Argentine might return to Tottenham.
‘I think, since I left in 2019, my name has always been on the list (of rumors),’ Pochettino said in the press conference, in the heels of Ange Postecoglou being sacked in the days after winning the club the Europa League.
‘I’ve seen the rumors, we are 100 coaches on the list. Don’t be worried about that. If something happens (in the future), you for sure will see, but I am so happy in this moment and we cannot talk about this type of thing.
‘Today it’s not realistic, look where I am, look where we are. The answer is so clear.’
