On Monday, speaking from London, where he lives, Mauricio Pochettino addressed several issues ahead of embarking on his second cycle as U.S. men’s national team coach. On Sept. 17, he will name his squad for a 16-day camp, beginning Sept. 21, and four home friendlies: Peru in Orlando (Sept. 26), Chile in St. Louis (Sept. 29), Mexico in Greater Phoenix (Oct. 3), Canada in St. Paul, Minnesota. (Oct. 6).

Pochettino, after the USA’s round-of-16 elimination with a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the USA-hosted 2026 World Cup, was re-signed by U.S. Soccer through the 2030 World Cup. He said he is looking at a pool of roughly 100 players before narrowing the group to about 26 for the upcoming camp. They include the 26 players on his 2026 World Cup squad and about 40 others he worked with ahead of the tournament. Below are excerpts from Pochettino’s Sept. 7 video press conference.

Pochettino on …

Choosing a 26-man roster for the upcoming camp:

“I think our idea [is] we are going to do a mix [of] experienced players. I think experienced players with young players that can fit together and start to work and how the young kids start to manage the pressure to play in the first team [in the] very next games … It’s tough, but I think it’s important now to have this pool of a lot of players because I think players can evolve from one month to another, six months, one year and it’s important to keep that connection.”

A fresh start toward 2030:

“For us now it’s about not only to think about today, but also to think about the future and 2030. It’s important also to see and to assess different players.”

“We need to work for the present because we need to win games; we need to be competitive. But it’s a different approach than the last period when we arrived [about 18 months before the World Cup]. It’s going to be new — a new process, new project, new rules, new principles. The headline needs to be that it is a new start, a fresh start.”

“It’s a massive job preparing for the 2030 World Cup. It’s a completely different job than when we arrived two years ago. But it’s very exciting. That is one of the points — that we are so excited to be together and be in the project [and] helping the young kids to become more mature, to grow in the right direction.”

His expanded “advisory” role with U.S. Soccer:

“This is the future of the USA. We want to try to perform in the World Cup and to create something special with the fans. And now it’s about being a part of the legacy that the federation wants to create — becoming one of the most powerful countries in soccer. That is a dream, no? It’s amazing. If we can be part of that, we are so excited and so happy.”