While United States men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino tried to maintain an optimistic countenance following the USMNT's embarassing Concacaf Nations League performance over the weekend, the same can not be said of USMNT legends Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan.
The pain Dempsey felt from the USMNT's losses to Panama in the semifinals and Canada in the third-place match was obvious to viewers of Paramount+'s coverage, where the former Fulham attacker served as one of the studio analysts.
"I mean the thing that is frustrating for me is that we haven't progressed as a team since 2022," Dempsey said in the immediate aftermath of the USA's 2-1 defeat to Canada on Sunday. "It was looking like we were going on and build from there and we haven't. Especially considering going into a World Cup in 2026. It's not looking good for the U.S."
“No matter how you looked at it, it was going to be a failure… When I was on the field, I gave you everything I had.” 💯@clint_dempsey shares his disappointment in the USMNT’s lackluster effort in the Nations League 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/bujq2D7llA
— Golazo America (@GolazoAmerica) March 24, 2025
Donovan, Dempsey's one-time partner in crime on the international level, was arguably even harsher on his former side in a post on X/Twitter.
"I’m so sick of hearing how 'talented' this group of players is and all the amazing clubs they play for," Donovan worte. "If you aren’t going to show up and actually give a s!%* about playing for your national team, decline the invite. Talent is great, pride is better."
Too harsh, or just right?
In a country where the national team has a higher profile, or where most players plied their trade at domestic clubs, you might worry that such criticism risked being counterproductive.
Regionally, it's somewhat reminisicent of Hugo Sanchez, who for the better part of a decade of his post-playing career rotating between a firebrand TV commentator who had harsh words for the Mexico national team and Liga MX clubs, and a national team or Liga MX club manager.
In Mexico, where most national team players came from LigaMX and soccer dominated the sporting culture, it created an environment of perpetually unrealistic expectations for a program that was constantly grappling with the U.S. for continental superiority, and constantly failing to advance past the round of 16 at the World Cup level.
But for the USMNT, the reality is most American players either play in MLS, where their team is at best the second-most popular sports team in their own city, or in elite European leagues where they feel far more pressure to produce at the club level than for their country.
And further, Mauricio Pochettino hasn't been in the job long enough to gain the credibility to blast his players in the media. He's literally only coached eight USMNT matches so far, and only four that were competitive fixtures. And he was replacing a coach in Gregg Berhalter that, regardless of what fans thought of him, had a very good reputation with his players.
The anger of a small faction of U.S. men's national team fans online may not add a sense of urgency to the players currently in the USMNT picture. But stern words two men who were potentially their childhood heroes just might.