US and Mexico Soccer Prospects 2025: Insights & Expectations

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00:00What can we expect, Nick, of US in 2025?

00:07I have very high hopes.

00:08I want to start off by saying that for a few reasons.

00:11Mauricio Pochettino coming in, OK, he's never coached a national team before, but he's a

00:17household name, I would say, in the coaching world, particularly in Europe, big clubs like

00:21Chelsea.

00:22And bringing that kind of energy to our team, I think, is something that's very much welcomed.

00:27And I think he could do a lot of good things for the club, for the team, considering we

00:32have so many players who are playing abroad in Europe, particularly playing for these

00:35top tier clubs, which we talked about, could present a logistical challenge coming into

00:39this for preparations.

00:40The coach has got to know what players are in form, who need more form.

00:45But at the end of the day, they're going to work around it.

00:47We can't sit around and complain and make excuses before anything starts.

00:50You're a host.

00:51You've got a brand new team, the head of your team, brand new coach, you've got a lot of

00:55great players in your squad.

00:56Is there a reason why the U.S. can't do well?

00:58And I would say the same for Mexico, both as co-hosts of the tournament.

01:01You know, the U.S. has right now the biggest number of players in European leagues in history.

01:08I think that the momentum that the U.S. has, unlike Mexico, that we are at our lowest point,

01:13the least amount of players in the, you know, and I'd like to make this comparison because

01:17both the U.S. and Mexico represent growth in the soccer world.

01:24Mexico has always been a staple name, has always been a team that creates respect from

01:29the biggest teams in Europe when it comes to the World Cup, has been a pain for Brazil,

01:35has been a pain for France, for Italy, you know, like it's a team that has a lot of respect

01:41around.

01:42But the U.S., now we're seeing that on paper and on the field, is growing at a pace that

01:48is hard to catch up.

01:50So Chiba, what is the biggest challenge for the Mexican team to stay relevant, not only

01:55in CONCACAF, but in the world conversation?

01:58The whole thing is a big challenge.

02:00But the fact that we have Javier Aguirre back and, you know, aside from Rafa Marquez, I

02:04think he's going to make a huge difference in what the Latribas do before and what they're

02:09doing now.

02:10I know everybody says Javier Aguirre for a third time, again, yeah, Javier Aguirre has

02:14come back with a lot of experience.

02:15He's a coach that has been proven with the national team that he can do the job.

02:20And I mean, they have the World Cup on their hands.

02:22It's going to be in our house too.

02:24So he better build a strong team.

02:27I think it's going to be a little bit more difficult.

02:29But then again, back in the day, we have no players in Europe and we had really, really

02:33good national teams.

02:36Now only Santi Jimenez is in the Champions League, it's the beginning.

02:39And we don't have many players in Europe, but I do have a lot of talent in the local

02:43Liga MX.

02:45And I have faith that Javier Aguirre and Rafa Marquez are going to put together a team

02:49that is going to surprise the world.

02:50To what extent do you guys think that having a certain amount of players playing in those

02:54top leagues in Europe is really going to be a determining factor for the team's success

02:59in a major tournament like the World Cup?

03:00How important is that?

03:01I believe that nowadays it's super important.

03:0420 years ago, it wouldn't be that important.

03:06Today, just the difference in systems, the fitness, the training, the principles around

03:13the mentality, everything off field.

03:16It's a performance level that is quite different in the European League than it is in Latin

03:20America.

03:21In Mexico, you might have a handful of teams with really top-of-the-line methodology in

03:29all of their training, physio, medical strategy.

03:34But one of the other things that I also think that is very important is your constant contact

03:41with players that are hoping to perform at the highest level in the highest tournament.

03:46When you week in and week out our training with players that are fighting for a spot

03:51in some of the top national teams, when you are training to go to Champions League and

03:57dispute a spot on the starting 11 of Champions League, it's a very different type of pressure.

04:02Now, I believe that Mexico, like you said, Chiva, integrating Liga MX players like they

04:09bring the base of Cruz Azul, which unfortunately Cruz Azulion no la hizo after being in first

04:16place for most of the tournament.

04:17I think that's important.

04:18I think it's the first time that I see a coach look to Liga MX as a solution and not just

04:24kind of like a patch.

04:25And not just that, just to add a little bit, the fact that the U.S. national team may come

04:29into problems if it's not a FIFA, Pochettino is not going to come with those players.

04:34On the other hand, with Javier Aguirre, he can have the Liga MX, just like they did with

04:40La Puente, have the team for three months, forget about Liga MX and go play around the

04:45world and that could build a strong team.

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