Altidore credits Pochettino for USMNT’s turnaround against Europe

Jozy Altidore said Mauricio Pochettino has helped reset the USMNT’s approach against European opposition by demanding a stronger mentality and drawing more from a group he sees as capable of world-class play. The former U.S. striker, now a special commentator for the 2026 World Cup, tied that shift to a team that entered its meeting with Turkey on June 25, 2026, carrying a five-year drought against European sides.

That drought had already become a defining pressure point for the American side. Before the 3-2 loss to Turkey in Inglewood, California, the USMNT had lost 10 straight matches to European opposition and gone 13 consecutive games without a win against a European team. The last victory in that run came on March 28, 2021, when the United States beat Northern Ireland 2-1 behind goals from Gio Reyna and Christian Pulisic.

The numbers around the skid show how severe the stretch had been. Over those 11 games, the United States scored seven goals, conceded 22 and was shut out four times. It also failed to score more than once in any of those matches, a record that sharpened questions about whether the group could match the pace, discipline and finishing demanded by elite European opponents.

Altidore’s assessment pointed directly at Pochettino’s influence rather than a single tactical tweak. The Argentine has been credited with pushing standards higher and getting more out of the players already in the pool, while also shaping a group mentality that expects more against stronger competition. That matters for a USMNT preparing to play its first men’s World Cup at home since 1994, where the margin for error will be smaller and the scrutiny far larger.

Telemundo Deportes, which introduced Altidore as a USMNT legend and special commentator for the tournament, described him as speaking 23 days before the World Cup about the demands on the host and his expectations for the team. His outlook was favorable, but it was built less on nostalgia than on a belief that Pochettino has brought a harder edge to a program that has spent years trying to close the gap with Europe.