Mauricio Pochettino driving new set of American values into this USMNT squad

IRVINE, Calif.— It took an Argentine coach to deliver that most American sentiment to the U.S.

men’s national team.And if they want to truly break through at this one-time-only chance on home soil, to have the sort of run that can genuinely change how soccer is viewed in America, then the mindset Mauricio Pochettino has tried to instill in his group must be internalized.“I think one is, we’re American.We don’t take s–t,” midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said Tuesday when asked how Pochettino had changed the team’s mindset.

“That’s something he really put in.“Even though he’s Argentinian, he has that mindset of, ‘Look, this is what we do.This is who we are.

This is what America’s about.’ Even from an outside perspective, he showed us Americans what we’re about.He really drills that into us.”What could be more American than that? It’s Billy Joel ending a concert, the Tkachuk brothers tossing down the gloves. What could be less American soccer? With all respect to Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Jones and every other guy who brought grit and toughness over the years, the USMNT has always been defined more by what it isn’t — a team that comes into a World Cup expecting to win it — than what it is. That’s what can change at this World Cup.

That’s what Pochettino has been trying to change since he took the job. “Our future and philosophy, we are coming from different countries, I think, to settle and establish the new way to see things here,” Pochettino said a couple days after the USMNT started camp last month.“I think it was necessary and was the priority, because if we want to play all these countries — Brazil, Argentina — I think we need to see the sport in a different way than we were seeing.”The 4-1 win over Paraguay that opened the World Cup marked the biggest, boldest step in the right direction the USMNT has taken yet.

The Americans were protagonists.They dominated the ball, never looked out of control.

The...