Unverified: Did Trump Really Call Coach Pochettino Before Team USA's Paraguay Match?

A story has been making the rounds claiming that President Donald Trump personally called or spoke with Team USA soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino ahead of the national team's match against Paraguay. The verdict: this claim is unverifiable, and no credible source has confirmed it happened.

Three major outlets were checked for this story. Reuters, which covers both Trump and US Soccer regularly, found no verified reporting of a direct conversation between the two. The Associated Press, which tracks USMNT activities closely, has no confirmed account of a pre-match call. And US Soccer itself has issued no statement — official or otherwise — acknowledging any such exchange.

To be fair to the strongest version of this claim: Trump has been publicly and vocally interested in US Soccer, particularly around the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting. It is not implausible that a sitting president would reach out to a national team coach. But plausible is not the same as confirmed. Wanting something to be true is not evidence that it is.

Without corroboration from the White House, US Soccer, or a credible sports journalist with a named source, this story has no verified foundation. It may have originated on social media, where claims like this travel fast and rarely get fact-checked before they spread.

Stories like this are worth watching for because they blend two things people care about — politics and national pride — in a way that feels good to share. Before passing along a feel-good sports-and-politics story, check whether any named, credible source has actually confirmed the key detail. If the answer is no, treat it as rumor until proven otherwise.