The day began with a report from a relatively unknown overseas journalist (pot to kettle, we know) that U.S. men's national manager Mauricio Pochettino had interviewed for the managerial vacancy at Brentford FC. It ended with a reminder that, for all the nonsense that encircles a figure of Pochettino's level magnitude, it could be so much worse. And more boring.
Hours after Pochettino insisted on the record he had never been contacted by the Bees, Herve Renard's Saudia Arabia side was thankfully dumped from the Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals in a 2-0 loss to Mexico that was not nearly as close as the score indicated.
Renard is well known as an international tournament specialist, and was one of the names linked to the USMNT job, at least informally, in the time between the end of Gregg Berhalter's tenure and the start of Pochettino's. In his previous tenure with the Saudi program, he helped the nation pull off the most famous upset in its history, a 2-1 World Cup group stage win over eventual champion Argentina.
He brought the Saudis to the Gold Cup as the tournament's lone guest team, with seemingly little to lose and much to gain from the possibility of challenging matches against the United States, Mexico and potentially others.
As they exit, it feels as though they never showed up at all, except maybe to provide a reminder that even if Pochettino proves not a great fit for the U.S. job, there were clearly far worse choices that were once considered credible options.
The not so lovely totals
The Saudis came into their Group D clash against the USA in Austin well aware that they didn't need a result for their group hopes. A win against Trinidad and Tobago in their final game would do, and a draw likely would as well.
Despite that, and arguably with a closer-to-full-strength team than the Americans, they decided to park the bus, toss the key into the Colorado River, then go throw back a bunch of Shiner Bock on Sixth Street and forget where they parked. (Metaphorically speaking, of course. The Saudis generally don't drink.)
They finished as 1-0 losers with three shots and zero big chances, but afterward, Renard crowed bout his side's ability to limit a makeshift U.S. squad to only Chris Richards' set-piece goal.
Herve Renard opens his post-match press conference by saying: "Congratulations to the USA for the result. They won the game........on set pieces. But we played a good game."
— Kyle Bonn (@the_bonnfire) June 20, 2025
There was absolutely some extra sauce on that one bit.#USMNT
That was Jogo Bonito compared to what they had to offer against Mexico in a match in which they were outshot 14-1. Perhaps they could rightly claim that they underachieved their expected goals (xG), since they generated 0.02 against 0.00 actual goals.
In a 1-0 win against Haiti, Renard's group scored on an early penalty against the run of play, then sat in a low block. They created more chances against Trinidad and Tobago. But the Soca Warriors are probably the fifth-best team in the Caribbean right now.
Part of the territory
When you hire someone of Pochettino's stature, some things come with the territory. Rumors connecting the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss to nearly every big open job under the sun are one of them. A relative indifference to the "pressure" of the USMNT job -- a comical concept compared to the true media frenzy that surrounds a Premier League power -- is another.
That can be an adjustmen for American fans. But at least it's interesting. And all the bemoaning of the recent USMNT drama involving Pochettino, absent star Christian Pulisic, cranky former stars Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan, and so on, maybe it's just time to embrace the crazy, just a little.
Saudi Arabia was the oddsmakers' fourth favorite entering the tournament. The same folks earlier this year installed Pochettino as the favorite to be Tottenham's next manager. Neither assessment was grounded in reality. But at least the Pochettino chatter was interesting.