Pochettino: USMNT players and fans must learn from Guatemala's example
The United States reached the final of the Gold Cup after beating Guatemala, but Mauricio Pochettino said they can learn from their passion.
Mauricio Pochettino believes the United States' players and supporters "need to feel the same" passion for football as Gold Cup semi-final opponents Guatemala.
Pochettino watched on as his team booked their place in the final of the competition with a 2-1 win over Guatemala, with Diego Luna's first-half brace doing the damage.
Indeed, the USMNT reached a record 13th final in the competition after missing out in 2023, ensuring they have never missed the showpiece match in consecutive editions.
The USA have won all 11 competitive home matches against Guatemala, the most games with a 100% record against any opponent at home in their history.
The tournament co-hosts will face Mexico in Sunday's finale at NRG Stadium in Houston, in what is the eighth time the two nations have met in the competition's final.
Despite the win, head coach Pochettino believes the USMNT players and fans can learn from Guatemala's passion for the sport.
"I saw a player of Guatemala crying," Pochettino said. "That is the way that we need to feel.
"And our fans need to feel the same. It's not to come here to enjoy all the spectacle, and if you lose, nothing happens. Things happen.
"In Argentina, it's not the same if we lose. The consequences are massive.
"[In some countries] you play [to] survive. You play for food. You play for pride. You play for many things. It's not to go and enjoy, and go home, and laugh, and that's it.
"The moment that we — now, this roster — start to live in this way, I think we have big room to improve.
"[That] connection between the fans and the team, that is the connection that we [would] like to see in the World Cup. That connection that makes you fly."
Guatemala scored in the 80th minute of the match through 18-year-old Olger Escobar, but failed to find an equalising goal.
National team coach Luis Fernando Tena said: "We're leaving with the feeling that we could have done more, that we could have tied the game, that it was a close match... I'm proud of the team, the players, and the fans."
Pochettino's take on Mexico, who beat Honduras 1-0 in the other semi-final.
Mexico are the current holders of the competition, having also reached the final in each of the last four editions.
