What are Poch's priorities ahead of the 2030 World Cup? | USMNT Weekly

**Ryan Bailey** (0:21)
Welcome to the Total Soccer Show USMNT Weekly, our regular friend to all things men's national team. On today's show, we're talking about Mauricio Pochettino's extended tenure and the challenges he's gonna face heading towards 2030 We're gonna look at the path ahead for the team in this cycle and how this group's gonna evolve for its next few tournaments. My name's Ryan Bailey. Joining me today, Taylor Rockwell's here, all the way from Richmond, Virginia. Hi Taylor, how are you?

**Taylor Rockwell** (0:47)
I am doing well, Ryan Bailey. Having read like 12 different did the US fail, is Pochettino a good coach articles, I'm here to say, I don't know. We're going to find out.

**Ryan Bailey** (0:59)
I look forward to you.
So talking about the things you read in those articles, they're much more than Taylor's. That sounds wonderful. Very good.

**Graham Ruthven** (1:06)
Like an AI model.

**Taylor Rockwell** (1:09)
That felt like an AI response. I'm simply wondering if Ryan is actually here.

**Ryan Bailey** (1:13)
Maybe he's not. Maybe he is not. Who knows? But Graham Rosemann said he just heard his voice. Hi, Graham, how are you?

**Graham Ruthven** (1:18)
I'm good, Ryan Bailey. How are you? I notice that you are back in your normal recording space, as Emmy Martina is the dog, not the Argentine goalkeeper, under the desk, or all the usual pieces in place again.

**Ryan Bailey** (1:29)
All is well, Graham. All is well. I'm back on the Eastern time zone. I have air conditioning in my surrounds.
It's wonderful. I'm very glad indeed to be back, and good to be back doing USMNT Weekly, not least because Joe Lowry has returned. Hi, Joe.

**Joseph Lowry** (1:46)
Hey, I'm back. I am thrilled to be here. It's been, I don't know, it's been eight years since I've been back. At least it feels that way because literally everything has happened. While I've been gone, FIFA is in shambles. Okay, well, I guess that's not new. But it's kind of a new shade of shambles these days.
MLS is a new commissioner, Pochettino is back, Gozo is in London, all these, really life is good because we have lots to talk about and I'm thrilled.

**Ryan Bailey** (2:10)
Yeah, this is what happens when you go away, Joe. Things fall apart. Don't do it again, okay?

**Joseph Lowry** (2:14)
You know what? That's on me. Message received. I'm going to sit in this chair, literally this one until the end of time.

**Ryan Bailey** (2:20)
Excellent. Good to hear.

**Graham Ruthven** (2:22)
I think it's actually our fault that the whole world, world football, has fallen apart because this is the first time since World Cup Final that we've done shows of foursome. So I feel whole again now that we're all back together, but the world soccer thanks us because it fell apart without us.

**Ryan Bailey** (2:39)
It did indeed. It did indeed. Joe, some housekeeping.
Your vacation was in East St. Louis, I believe. How was it?

**Joseph Lowry** (2:46)
Yeah, it was great. I mean, America, Soccer City, Soccer Capital USA, Soccer City USA. No, I was in Hawaii with my wife and it was lovely. We had a great time. We got to explore a couple of different islands and did a lot of beach, a good bit of hiking and just honestly one of the most stunning places that I've ever been. So really, really thankful that you guys kept the shit moving while I was gone. Not that that was ever in doubt. Not that I'm like the key piece of the puzzle that if you pull it out, it's all going to crumble. But it was a joy to get to listen to some shows on the way home yesterday. I didn't feel like screaming in opposition at any point, which is great. And we had a blast on the trip. Everything was lovely.

**Graham Ruthven** (3:25)
It was literally our job to keep the ship moving. That's how Joe got home. We were just waiting for him in the seas.

**Joseph Lowry** (3:31)
Weirdly, this was the world's first soccer podcast powered coal steamer. So I don't know why they still have coal in the name. That doesn't really make sense to me.

**Ryan Bailey** (3:40)
It's Joe Cole who's powering it.

**Joseph Lowry** (3:42)
True. That makes more sense than it being both coal powered, steam powered, and then also somehow soccer podcast powered. But what they're doing these days with hybrid tech is fascinating.

**Graham Ruthven** (3:51)
Just shoveling those hot takes in.

**Joseph Lowry** (3:53)
Right.

**Ryan Bailey** (3:55)
All right. Let's try and get us back on the coal powered rails. patreon.com/totalsoccershow is where you're going to find our bonus content. We've got bonus episodes, bonus video content, and access to our Discord server. All the cool kids are in there. Come and say hello. We love everybody who has a chat with us in there. patreon.com/totalsoccershow, and thank you to everybody who supports us via that medium. First things first, Joseph Lowry, let's come back to you because as you noted, we did miss some key stories, including but not limited to Mauricio Pochettino signing another contract with US Soccer.