What Mauricio Pochettino said to LA Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick during World Cup meet-up

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Mauricio Pochettino is the man tasked with ensuring the USMNT have a successful 2026 World Cup on home soil.

The USA have had a prolific start to the tournament and are due to face Turkey in their final group match on Thursday evening.

Ahead of that tie, Pochettino recently held a press conference where he was asked about meeting LA Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick for a shirt swap. He revealed they talked about the NBA draft, Redick’s birthday and more.

Mauricio Pochettino spoke about NBA draft with LA Lakers Head Coach JJ Redick

In a video shared via X/Twitter, the USMNT coach said: “I congratulate him [Redick] because today was his birthday, and also it’s Lionel Messi’s birthday.”

Pochettino continued: “We were talking about how nice it is that the stadium, he was, he shows he’s proud about the job that we are doing. I think we were talking about the draft. They are involved in the draft now.

“I asked tomorrow if he’s going to be here, and he said to me ‘Unfortunately, no’ because he’s with his wife and has a different plan. I say ‘OK go’.

“It was very nice to meet him, and yes, we were really friendly, we have a friendly moment and conversation, nice conversation.”

Pochettino’s attention will now switch towards their remaining World Cup matches, starting with Turkey.

Thanks to the new head-to-head rule introduced by FIFA this year, the USA have already qualified as winners of Group D, making this week’s match largely pointless.

After taking on Turkey, the US are set to compete in the Round of 32 on July 1, with their opponent yet to be confirmed.

However, Bosnia and Herzegovina are very likely to be the team the USMNT take on in the next round after they finished third in Group B.

Only the top eight of the 12 third-place teams qualify for the knockout phase, and as games are still ongoing, that match cannot be made official just yet.

But as Bosnia and Herzegovina secured four points from three games, it would take something of a miracle for them not to make it through to face the USA.