Mauricio Pochettino’s first USA squad could just as conceivably been called by his predecessor. But what could be seen as underwhelming could instead be revealing

Mauricio Pochettino arrived in the US men’s national team job with as sterling a résumé as anyone to take charge of the program, and boasted in his introduction to US media that he believed the team could win the 2026 World Cup, due to be hosted at home along with Canada and Mexico.

It sounded like the start of a revolution. His first squad, named last week, was anything but.