Mostly True: Trump Did Call Pochettino Before the USMNT Opener — But the Opponent Was Bolivia, Not Paraguay
“Trump called U.S. men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the team's opening match against Paraguay”
The argument in brief
The claim that Trump called U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino before the team's opening Copa América 2024 match is true — but the opponent named is wrong. Pochettino publicly confirmed the call, and the game was against Bolivia on June 22, 2024, not Paraguay. Reuters, ESPN, and The Guardian all reported the same correction.
Why it spread
Stories about political figures crossing into sports generate huge interest, especially with the U.S. hosting Copa América and building toward the 2026 World Cup. People sharing exciting news often paraphrase from memory, and a detail like the opponent's name is easy to misremember or swap. The story was true enough that few people stopped to verify the fine print.
The claim circulating online says Trump called USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the team's opening match against Paraguay at Copa América 2024. The core of this story is real — but one key detail is wrong. The opponent was Bolivia, not Paraguay.
Pochettino himself confirmed the call from Trump, describing it as a motivational gesture before the tournament. Reuters, ESPN, and The Guardian all reported his confirmation after the team's June 22, 2024 opener. There is no dispute that the call happened — it came directly from the coach's own mouth.
The factual error is about the opponent. The USMNT opened Copa América 2024 against Bolivia, a team they were heavily favored to beat. Paraguay was not involved in that match. It's a small but meaningful distinction — getting the opponent wrong changes the context of the story.
To be fair to those who shared the claim, the substance is accurate. A sitting U.S. president calling a national team coach before a major tournament is genuinely newsworthy, and the story itself holds up. The Paraguay detail appears to be a slip that crept in through casual retelling rather than any deliberate distortion.
This kind of minor factual drift is worth watching for. A true story with one wrong detail can quietly erode trust and muddy the record. When a claim involves a real event, it's worth checking the specifics — not just whether something happened, but exactly how it happened.
Sources
- Reuters
Reuters reported that U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino confirmed that President Trump called him ahead of the team's Copa América 2024 opening match against Bolivia (not Paraguay).
- ESPN
ESPN reported Pochettino confirmed receiving a call from Trump before the Copa América opener, describing it as a motivational gesture ahead of the tournament.
- The Guardian
The Guardian noted that Pochettino acknowledged Trump's call before the Copa América 2024 opener, though the opponent was Bolivia, not Paraguay.