Producers of a documentary following the U.S. national soccer team on their journey to the World Cup shared that they needed to establish “trust” with USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino, who had reservations stemming from his unfavorable experience with the ‘All or Nothing’ series about Tottenham.
The Daily Mail was given an exclusive preview of the upcoming third episode of the HBO series ‘U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men’s National Soccer Team.’
This episode highlights the initial phase of Pochettino’s leadership with the USMNT, beginning with his appointment as head coach and leading up to a disappointing defeat in the CONCACAF Nations League in March 2025.
In a conversation with the Daily Mail, executive producers from the production company Park Stories disclosed that gaining Pochettino’s confidence was challenging because he was dissatisfied with how he was depicted in the Tottenham series.
Pochettino’s unexpected exit from Tottenham was only briefly touched upon in the series’ first episode, leaving viewers surprised by the lack of detailed explanation about his dismissal and the absence of acknowledgment for the improvements he brought to the team.
The latest episode of HBO’s docuseries on the USMNT covers Mauricio Pochettino’s arrival
Episode Three of the series focuses on Mauricio Pochettino’s unveiling in September 2024
It’s part of a five-episode docuseries covering the United States in the run-up to the World Cup
Thankfully, Pochettino soon realized that this documentary would take a different approach. The film crew even captured a moment of his passionate locker room critique following a defeat to Panama.
‘Something we combat every day as filmmakers and storytellers is, you know, he really was treated very poorly in “All or Nothing,” the one they did on Tottenham,’ said director and executive producer Rand Getlin.
‘He had five years at that club. He took them to a Champions League final. So many incredible stories that could have been focused on. And in “All or Nothing,” he was given none of that, right?
‘None of the context, none of the dimension, none of the nuance, none of the care that you should have in our medium for the humans on the other side of the camera.’
Getlin says he was unaware of this when Pochettino arrived for the job to continue with the project that his predecessor, Gregg Berhalter, was a main character in.
‘If you could have chosen any other coach in the world – you know, from a storytelling perspective, from a documentarian standpoint – you certainly wouldn’t want one that had such a negative experience with a documentary crew in the past,’ Getlin added.
‘Building trust takes a really long time,’ noted executive producer Janina Pelayo. ‘It was a process, you know, like feeling it out, our words versus our actions and how we respect his space, the little time he has with these guys.
‘They’ve been amazing. It’s been kind of like feeling each other out at the very, very beginning to earn that trust and to kind of gage how we impact his camps.’
Cameras got access inside the locker room during Pochettino’s first game in charge
They also showed his mindset after a heartbreaking loss to Panama in the Nations League
The normally positive Pochettino was captured blasting his team’s ’embarrassing’ play
Pochettino’s level of comfort grew to the point where cameras were allowed inside the locker room in tense moments.
The normally outwardly positive Pochettino was seen criticizing his team after a loss to Panama in the semifinals of the Nations League.
‘If we believe that we are here [higher] and Panama is here [lower], we need to show it, and be aggressive and take a risk,’ Pochettino was seen telling his team a day after the defeat.
‘But yesterday we played 45 minutes all safe, safe, safe, safe, back, back, back, back. Embarrassing. It’s in our country, in our place’
He added, ‘They celebrated like it was the World Cup. For them it was the World Cup, for us, it was only a game. We need to show more… It’s about coming here to the national team and saying, “I need to die for the national team. I need to die for my teammates. I need to die for my competition.”
‘Because if not… It’s not only “Oh, I’m playing,’ … I need to come here and show that I am desperate to come and when I arrive, I’m going to be the best… because I want to compete, I want to win.
‘If we are not able to create that mentality, it’s impossible, it’s impossible.’
Midway through this discussion, Pochettino noticed the cameras and asked the filmmakers to leave before continuing to address the team.
Producers described Pochettino as being a ‘fundamentally positive guy’
Such an interaction is different than how Pochettino normally is viewed by fans and media. Getlin says that the Argentine’s typical positivity is how he normally operates.
‘He is a fundamentally positive guy,’ the producer said. ‘He likes to keep the vibes high. He likes to keep the bad energy away.
‘I mean, these are things that have been reported about him for years that, you know, he feels more deeply than people. And that’s to the upside, right? And he also really feels the downside as well.
‘So I’d say that, like, our experience with Mauricio behind the scenes is he’s a human being. At the end of the day, he has good days and bad days like the rest of us.’
Episode 3 of “U.S. Against the World: Four Years with the Men’s National Team” premieres at 9:00pm ET on HBO
