Mauricio Pochettino names the 3 most impactful USMNT players ever

The U.S. Men's National Team has a new manager leading them into the 2026 World Cup, which returns to the United States and North America for the first time in over three decades. Mauricio Pochettino has an impressive resume as a manager, and he'll be hoping to extend that success into the international scene with the Americans moving forward.

Recently, he was asked about the history of the USMNT, and more specifically, which players have helped shape the country's national team the most over the years. While his answers weren't super surprising, you do have to wonder if he'll make some adjustments by the time he's done coaching America in the future.

Pochettino went ahead and listed off three former national team players, Tim Howard, Landon Donovan and Clint Dempsey, who were obviously all extremely worthy of praise for various reasons during their U.S. tenures.

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The USMNT certainly has its share of quality youngsters in the fold now though, whether it's captain Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie or Tyler Adams, so maybe if 2026 finally proves to be the stepping stone they've needed towards becoming an elite soccer country then Pochettino will have to add one more to his Mount Rushmore.

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