The United States enter a charged World Cup asking: what is enough?

Unlike most other countries, the US are playing the 2026 World Cup not just for themselves, but for the future of their voice in the sport

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Mauricio Pochettino paused.

The microphone signal flickered.

He tried, for a second time, to say a few things to the 5,500 fans who had gathered in the sun Monday at Championship Soccer Stadium in Irvine, California – the United States’ World Cup home base – for an open training session.

Nothing.

Then something.

More choppy audio.

By the time things came back online, he had developed a quip.

“We are in the greatest country in the world,” he said in his Rioplatense-accented English. “But the technology does not work.”