The US is co-hosting the 2026 World Cup. What is a realistic but ambitious benchmark for success? Quarters, semis, the final?
"I think the quarters would be the first goal. But when you get to World Cups, the best teams evolve as the tournament moves along. You gain momentum, and sometimes that is how special things happen.
"From my own experience, we did not set a goal of quarters or semis. It was first to navigate the group. That will be different in this World Cup with 48 teams, where eight third-place sides go through. But once you are into the knockout phase, you are ready.
"This US team certainly has real potential, and the expectation to get out of the group. After that, you see how the matchups play out. But we are all hopeful."
What is the one thing that has historically stopped the US from beating elite nations in knockout football? Tactics or mentality?
"I can only speak to the one time I was there at the World Cup. We won the group, we were excited and motivated, and after the Confederations Cup the year before, we believed we were ready to go far. But in the round of 16 against Ghana, we created big chances - it is a game we still felt we should have won; when it went to extra time, we found ourselves behind and could not do it again.
"I don't think there is one factor. It is about having confidence in the moment, and sometimes the breaks going your way. But mostly it is the work that goes in over a full cycle, building a team, building leadership, establishing a playing identity, and then going game by game when you get there."
You mention that Ghana game in 2010. If you could play it again, what would you change?
"We would love to play it again. We went in with a good frame of mind, but twice we found ourselves playing from behind. We had a good start to the match, then made a mistake and went 1-0 down. We pushed hard to make it 1-1 and had chances in regulation to win it. We were confident going into extra time, but then a strange play, Asamoah Gyan took advantage, and we were behind again. As we pushed and pushed, time ran out.
"I would not change the big picture, but there are moments along the way, if we manage a couple of plays a little better, take our chances, the result could have been different."
What is the most underrated advantage of being the host nation? And is there any risk to it?
"That is a good question. There is pressure, but there is also incredible support and a special feeling. For players, the opportunity to play a World Cup in your own country is something extraordinary, and I believe Pochettino will make sure they all feel that.
"When you hear certain players speak in interviews about this opportunity, you can tell it means something. I think it can absolutely work in the US team's favour."
Mauricio Pochettino was appointed US head coach. What could he realistically transform in the first six to twelve months given the limited time together?
"It is limited training time, and I often talk about the importance of a full four-year cycle. Qualifying tests harden a team, and in my period, there was no Nations League, so we could arrange big friendlies against top sides. The Confederations Cup the year before the World Cup in South Africa, against Italy, Brazil and Egypt, gave us a real sense of what was coming.
"I think every national team manager tries to establish a clear identity and standards. From the outside, it seems clear that his number one message is: when you come to play for the national team, it is bigger than all of us. It is about the group. That is a great starting point."
If you were advising him, would you build around the system or around the top three or four players?
"As a national team coach, you always begin by understanding your talent, your strengths, your personalities; that is how you build the team. I cannot speak for Pochettino, but I feel strongly that you maximise the players you have, you get to know them, you get everybody on the same page.
"We have not seen the full group enough times under him yet, so there are still questions. But the upcoming friendlies will help, and then we will learn a lot more when we see what his final roster looks like."
Christian Pulisic is clearly the key man. How do you get the best out of him, and what is his role as a leader?
"You are right that he is very important, maybe the most important. He has played at the highest level consistently, and his creativity, his cleverness, his timing to get into the box, those are all qualities the US team needs to take advantage of.
"In terms of the system, Pulisic needs freedom to operate both wide and inside. I still love to see him moving into the box at the right moments, because he is capable of scoring goals, as we saw with AC Milan.
"Off the field, my sense is that there needs to be a group of leaders, not just one. That was the case with our teams. We had Carlos Bocanegra as captain, but his relationship with Steve Cherundolo, Landon Donovan, Clint Dempsey, Tim Howard, the leadership came from the group. I see this US team being similar. Weston McKennie is a great example. He has had an excellent year at Juventus, he has personality, his attitude is infectious.
"Pochettino will understand the dynamics and figure out how to bring a group of leaders together to set the bar for everyone else."
How do you protect a player like Pulisic from being asked to do too much?
"The manager has to figure out with the group what is required when you step on the field, and in the back of your mind, you are always thinking about what is needed in the biggest games.
"With the US during my time, we had a strong sense that we must work hard as a team, work for each other, find ways to be hard to play against. And for that, everybody has to be part of it. It is not like Argentina, where all the players know they must work so that (Lionel) Messi can deliver the special moments.
"But I thought what (Lionel) Scaloni did with Argentina at the last World Cup was remarkable, his understanding of the identity, the relationships on the field. You could sense the entire team was there to win a World Cup for Argentina, and in a way, to win it for Messi."
You coached at Stabæk in Norway. What did the football culture there mean to you?
"I have two answers.
"On Norwegian football as a whole, it is a small country, but the love of football is real. There are small artificial turf pitches everywhere, the coaching community is strong, clubs have identities, and that is behind the success. You see amazing players like Erling Haaland and Martin Odegaard coming through. (Stale) Solbakken has done a very good job of making this generation feel proud, and they have grown significantly over the last couple of years.
On Stabæk specifically, I loved the people. When I visited at the end of 2013, I met people who had been part of the club when it was in the fifth league, and they had this dream of reaching the top flight. They did it, but then some financial decisions did not work and things got difficult. It was a small club with a big heart. In 2014 and 2015, I think we created teams that really represented that spirit.
"When I returned later, some things had changed — not all the people I loved were still at the centre of things, and I felt some new leaders did not have the same understanding of the culture. When you raise standards, some people get nervous. In the end, it was time to move on, but my first experience there will always be in my heart."
Bodo/Glimt have become a remarkable European story. What is behind it?
"It is an amazing story. I know Kjetil Knutsen a little and assistant coach Gaute Helstrup quite well from my time in Norway. The most important thing is that there is a clear culture and a clear identity. They really believe that you must work hard on the field, every single day in training, and it is always about doing things as a group. Even when you hear the players speak, it is always "we", never "I". That mentality and that belief in their football, it is not a miracle. It is a product of a good culture."
Norway qualified for the 2026 World Cup after a long wait. Can they be a surprise?
"I do think they can be a surprise. They had some success in earlier years under Egil Olsen and Rosenborg was a big part of establishing standards in that period. Then came years of uncertainty about what Norwegian football would become. But they developed great players, Solbakken built something real out of the disappointment of missing the Euros, and they grew stronger and more confident through qualifying. I think they are ready to have a big World Cup."
You managed Egypt. What did that job teach you about national team pressure compared to the US?
"My experience in Egypt was special, but it changed entirely on February 1st, 2012, the massacre in the stadium in Port Said, when 72 young Al-Ahly fans lost their lives. Gates were locked, lights went off, and there were people there that day not to watch football. It created enormous questions, many still unanswered. From a football standpoint, everything changed. The league stopped. We had to go outside the country to train and prepare.
"But every time the players came into camp, in a period when they were not being paid, not knowing what the future held, their love of their country was so special.
"We won all six matches in the group stage of qualifying. We then drew Ghana in the play-offs. The first game in Ghana was a disaster. The players felt the weight of everything happening in the country, and you could tell on that day they were not themselves. We won the second match but not by enough goals. I told them in the dressing room afterwards that those experiences would shape them. When I later saw those players had qualified for the World Cup, it was a good feeling."
How do you build a team around a player like Mohamed Salah?
"When I was there, Salah was young. The first thing that happened was that he developed a fantastic relationship with (Mohamed) Aboutrika, both on and off the field.
"Aboutrika is loved in Egypt, an incredible leader and an incredible man. He was getting older, and my biggest sadness from that time is that when we did not qualify, Aboutrika never got to play in a World Cup. But the way Salah learned from him, how to act, what it meant to be on the national team, that was special. On the field, Aboutrika had an extraordinary eye for the right pass, and Salah developed a great sense of how to get into the right areas at the right time.
"For Egypt now, with Salah recognised as one of the best players in the world, and with someone like (Omar) Marmoush also doing extremely well, there is a little more to share the load. But do not be fooled, the pressure will always be on Salah. Egypt holds its top players to the highest standards, and the coach's job is to build everything around getting the best out of him, just as Scaloni did with Messi."
You built LAFC's identity from scratch and led a record-breaking 72-point Supporters' Shield season. What is the hardest part of creating a big-club mentality in MLS?
"LAFC was so special because before we hadn't played a single match, I sat down with the ownership and laid out a vision based entirely on football, the way we would play, the kind of players we would find, the profiles we would recruit. I wanted us to be a team that, if you came to watch, you would be excited and you would want to come back.
"Carlos Vela was of course a huge star, but we also made another point: Los Angeles is a city of stars, but fans also appreciate watching a young player become a star right in front of their eyes, the way Kobe Bryant did in basketball. So when Diego Rossi arrived and many fans did not yet know him, and then they watched him develop and grow, he became a star just like Carlos.
"Even now, when I see players from those teams, they still speak in extraordinary ways about what it was like to train and play for that group. That makes me feel good."
What has been the biggest impact of Leo Messi on MLS?
"It has been incredible. For anyone who follows football around the world, Messi operates at a completely different level. For people in the United States to see him up close, game after game, in the stadium and on television, and for the whole world to be asking what Messi did this weekend, that brings enormous attention to the league.
"But from a pure football standpoint, Messi is a genius. Even as he gets older, his ability to recognise the advantage in a moment, his feel for space and timing, whether it is a pass or a finish, is extraordinary. You must enjoy every second of it, because at some point it will be over.
"He is the best player ever, and it has been a privilege to see this chapter of his career in Miami."
There are rumours Robert Lewandowski could join Chicago Fire. Do you have any news?
"I do not have news. But I know what Chicago means. When I went there, it was an expansion team, and the first thing I did was fly to Munich to spend five days with Peter Nowak, who was at 1860 Munich at the time. When we signed him, it immediately gave the club credibility in the city, specifically in the Polish community in Chicago, which is enormous.
"The new ownership is building a new stadium in the city, just for football, which when it opens will be incredible. If they could bring a player like Robert, I think that would fit. The team is improving under Gregg Berhalter. We will all wait and see."
Finally, will the 2026 World Cup accelerate the growth of football in the US even further?
"Yes. I see a lot of positives. The World Cup gives us the opportunity to show the world how the game is developing here. But more importantly, I see the academies doing good work, and more young players getting opportunities both in MLS and abroad. The game is moving forward, and hopefully the World Cup helps that process for everyone."