Mauricio Pochettino Archives - Sibling Rivalry

Belgium traps USMNT in Waffle House of Horrors

Hal Phillips — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 15:05:26 +0000

Monday night’s USMNT exit was gutting, but we shouldn’t be too surprised. We knew Tim Ream, for all his qualities, was playing on borrowed time. We knew there a howler coming from such an inexperienced keeper. And we knew there would be massive karmic fallout from Dear Leader’s vainglorious meddling. But I wasn’t expecting the [...]

The post Belgium traps USMNT in Waffle House of Horrors appeared first on Sibling Rivalry.

US-Belgium Preview: A Single Goal Could Win It — Where will it come from?

Hal Phillips — Sat, 04 Jul 2026 21:17:25 +0000

We’ve barely noticed how well the U.S. back line has played in this tournament, what with distractions like Pulisic’s injury watch, Balogun’s B.S. red card, and a blizzard of American goals. Yet Pochettino’s back three has been superb because it works specifically in context of our midfield five. We may have to shut out the [...]

The post US-Belgium Preview: A Single Goal Could Win It — Where will it come from? appeared first on Sibling Rivalry.

A New World Guide to Sensible World Cup Expectations

Hal Phillips — Wed, 03 Jun 2026 18:25:46 +0000

I was rereading and search-engine optimizing some older essays last week, when I came across a column from early October 2017. To be precise, the piece was written two frantic days after the USMNT failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. That remains, you may recall, a dire moment in what I [...]

The post A New World Guide to Sensible World Cup Expectations appeared first on Sibling Rivalry.

USMNT Final Roster Observations & Idle Gossip

Hal Phillips — Wed, 27 May 2026 19:26:45 +0000

It's getting real, folks. The World Cup is but two weeks away. Mauricio Pochettino has issued his final, 26-man U.S. Men’s National Team roster. Here’s what it tells us: Other than Tanner Tessman staying home, no roster surprises — only alignment questions and a couple puzzlers. It seems El Mister is committed to a back [...]

The post USMNT Final Roster Observations & Idle Gossip appeared first on Sibling Rivalry.

Excerpt: Mexican admiration for Argentinian Futbol Culture runs Deep

Hal Phillips — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 19:06:01 +0000

Walking through the tailgate scene outside Estadio Akron, I stopped a few times to chat up the locals—hoping to find English speakers to discuss the match and our multigenerational family feud. This search proved largely fruitless. Google Translate can only do so much. But those limited conversations, taken together, did accentuate one thing: Mexican [...]

The post Excerpt: Mexican admiration for Argentinian Futbol Culture runs Deep appeared first on Sibling Rivalry.