Jose Mourinho has been praising the young USMNT squad and believes the U.S. men’s national team is set up for a ‘very interesting’ future.
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Even if you don’t like his style of play, this kind of praise is a good thing and proves the prestige of American players continues to grow in Europe and beyond.
Speaking virtually to the 2021 United Soccer Coaches Convention, Mourinho was complimentary of the players coming through the ranks of the national team and lauded most of them for heading to Europe at a young age to build up their ‘resilience’ and ‘intensity’ in their game.
“Lots of good players. Lots of good players in Germany, in England, even in the Championship. The players are coming and the players have quality. You can find different qualities in the players. It’s not like everyone is a technical, creative player like the Chelsea boy [Christian Pulisic]. It’s not like everyone is physical. I think there are quite a mixture of qualities... You have the players to have a very interesting national team,” Mourinho said.
Okay, USMNT fans, stop freaking out.
Mourinho is clearly lining himself up to be the USMNT’s coach at the 2026 World Cup. And, if Christian Pulisic is forced to play wing back and Gio Reyna is a holding midfielder and the USA win the World Cup by scrapping 1-0 wins and winning every single knockout round game on penalty kicks, you would take it.
Don’t lie.
Mourinho to MLS in the future...
On a serious note, Mourinho has always talked about his plan to manage in Major League Soccer one day and his affinity for taking teams to Los Angeles as a base for preseason training (particularly the Beverley Hills area) should be noted.
He also had this to say about MLS, and said he watches it when he can.
“I know that you have in this moment a lot of foreign players coming from Central American countries and others. But there are still good domestic players coming and you give them the opportunity,” Mourinho said. “The example of the Canadian boy [Alphonso Davies] at Bayern is the kind of situation that opens the eyes to European scouts. In this moment, European scouts, they have an eye on MLS. I promise you that. People now, they believe they can scout and they can find good players in there. So the production is very positive.”
In Mourinho’s head, he will lead the USMNT to glory in 2026 and then lead LAFC or LA Galaxy to MLS glory between 2027-29 before he retires at the age of 65. That then leaves him plenty of time for his Hollywood movie career as a lovable villain.