🗣️ Pochettino warns of dwindling preparation time before 2026 World Cup

The United States men's national team is set to take on Ecuador and Australia during the October international break as preparations continue ahead of the 2026 World Cup in North America.

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But head coach Mauricio Pochettino is well aware that friendlies are not the perfect simulation for competitive international fixtures.

Those have been hard to come by since replacing Gregg Berhalter as Stars and Stripes boss.

“Friendly games are friendly games," he said this week. "It’s difficult to put that situation as the World Cup . But we need to try, we need to challenge ourselves to be better and better and better.

“The objective always is to keep growing, keep adapting, keep building, and becoming stronger in our belief in our principles.

“My expectation is always to compete better. The World Cup is going to demand us to play our best.”

For this window, Pochettino picked a roster more akin to what USMNT fans have become accustomed to in recent years. His squad features a greater chunk of European-based Americans than we saw in the summer windows.

The U.S. will kick off their October window against Ecuador Friday evening in Austin, Texas.

📸 Koji Watanabe - 2025 Getty Images

United States men's national team Ecuador Australia Mauricio Pochettino Gregg Berhalter World Cup