Mauricio Pochettino said not having any qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup turned out to be a major “problem” for the U.S. men’s national team. The Stars and Stripes automatically qualified for this summer’s showpiece event as a host nation, along with Canada and Mexico, and therefore largely only had a run of international friendlies in the buildup to the tournament, whereas the 45 other participating countries had to play competitive matches to secure their place at the World Cup . Pochettino cited the “non-official games” as reason for the USMNT’s inconsistent form. Most recently, his men lost friendlies to Belgium and Portugal by an aggregate score of 7–2 during the March international break. “We knew it would be a problem, how to approach the games, because we have already qualified,” Pochettino said on the Stick to Football podcast. “Friendly games is what you play with your friends. “We are fighting to change that mindset.…