Politics hard to escape for coaches ahead of CONCACAF Nations League Finals

The stakes are high for the United States on and off the soccer pitch with all three of the other teams at the CONCACAF Nations League Finals.

U.S. President Donald Trump has talked of taking over the Panama Canal, has renamed the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America, imposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada — among other countries — and discussed ad nauseam the merits of Canada becoming the 51st state.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino, an Argentine native, took the high road Tuesday when asked about the political landscape ahead of his 16th-ranked team’s semifinal showdown with No. 36 Panama on Thursday at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif.

Pochettino, whose resume includes managing Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea, said politics should not mix with sports.

“It’s not because I don’t want to talk, I have my ideas,” he said in English.

“I think we have qualified people that can talk about politics,” he added. “But I am not an expert in politics. I have of course my ideas. I’m 53 years old, OK … We want to destroy Panama. We want to destroy the next one and we want to win. But when I say we destroy, it’s in a sport way. We want to beat them. We want to win the game.”

Pochettino said it would be a “big mistake” to talk politics because “people are not waiting for us to talk in this way.”

Canada, ranked 31st in the world, faces No. 19 Mexico in the other semifinal Thursday,

Jesse Marsch spoke out last month at a CONCACAF news conference when asked, as an American coaching Canada, how comfortable was he with “all this political stuff happening right now.”

Marsch did not hold back, telling Trump to “lay off the ridiculous rhetoric about Canada being a 51st state.”

“As an American, I’m ashamed of the arrogance and disregard that we’ve shown one of our historically oldest, strongest and most loyal allies,” Marsch said at the time. “But one thing’s for sure, when I look forward to a month from now, I know that this will fuel our team — the mentality we have, the will we have to play for our country, the desire we have to go after this tournament in every way and to show on and off the pitch exactly what Canadian character is.”

“I guarantee you our team will be ready,” he added.

He was more measured Tuesday, while noting he stood by the previous comments.

“Look I’m not going to get political right now,” he said. “I think I made my statements clear and known. I will say that I do think, again from watching the Four Nations (Face-Off) in hockey, that you can see the climate for sports in North America has been elevated for national teams.

“I hopeful, really hopeful that this tournament can be the best reflection of society, of our societies, in that we don’t have to waste time booing anthems and getting caught up in politics. And we can just focus on the players and the teams and supporting the love of the game. and then whatever your nationality is that you can support your team all the way.”

He said the political situation has not been addressed within his team, noting the players have other concerns.

“They want to stick to playing football. They don’t want to be political figures and I don’t blame them,” he said.

Marsch did reveal he had exchanged texts with Canada hockey coach Jon Cooper.

“I haven’t over-emphasized this whole political scene. But what I have said is that we know that there’s a charged atmosphere around what these international games mean,” he said.

And the Wisconsin native, who now makes his home in Italy after coaching stints in Europe, said he has tried to use “the Canadian hockey mentality” with his players, referencing the “grittiness” of Canadian players.

“When things are tough, that they play their best, that they’re hard, that they’re strong, that they’re up for challenges, that they’ll never back down from a fight. And to kind of say we need to build this more and more into who we are and to our identity. But do it in our way, in our football way. And so I think they have. I think we’ve grown a lot in the time I’ve know them. And again I’m excited for Thursday.”

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This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 18 2025.

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press