AUSTIN, Texas — United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino dubbed hosting the 2026 World Cup “a massive, massive responsibility” and has called on U.S. fans to help push the team forward.

Pochettino will lead the USMNT in a match for the first time on Saturday against Panama at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas, and he’s eager to get his side off to a winning start. But he also has an eye on the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. is co-hosting alongside Canada and Mexico.

That tournament will mark the second time the U.S. has hosted the World Cup, with the first instance taking place in 1994. That World Cup provided a massive boost to the sport in the U.S., with the money made from that tournament helping to launch MLS. Pochettino is hoping to channel that enthusiasm in the run-up to 2026.

“I think it’s a massive responsibility for us to try [for] our fans to provide a sport that can be exciting and enjoyable like another sport here that leads the country,” he said during a roundtable with reporters, and referencing the most popular sports in the U.S. “And I think that our responsibility is a massive, massive responsibility.”

It’s a pressure from which Pochettino said he is trying to shield his players. In his very first meeting with the USMNT he mentioned how important it is to rise above any stress they might be feeling.

“In soccer, players need to express themselves. They play because of their talent,” Pochettino said. “If you put too much pressure on, then you stop expressing your talent because it’s too much thought or too [many] things in your head.”

For the Argentine, that is where the fans come in, regardless of whether the team is winning or losing, playing well or not playing well.

Without question the 2024 calendar year has been a frustrating period for USMNT fans. The team failed to get out of the group stage at the 2024 Copa America, and had some tense moments in the Concacaf Nations League semifinal against Jamaica. A 5-1 friendly loss to Colombia was sobering as well.

Pochettino is hoping that with the fans’ help, the USMNT can begin to reestablish some momentum.

“Together, we need to build that confidence and trust that we can arrive in two years and be really competitive and to feel proud about a sport that maybe [wasn’t born] here but starts to belong here,” Pochettino said.

“That I think is going to be really important. But without the fans, it’s impossible. We need the fans … to buy this idea. If not, it’s impossible. In Germany, in Argentina, in Brazil, why soccer there is the first thing? Because of the fans.”