USA’s Mauricio Pochettino, Lakers’ JJ Redick swap jerseys before World Cup game

Just about every United States sports fan will be tuned into the men’s national soccer team’s June 25 World Cup Group Stage game against Turkey at SoFi Stadium.

The result is irrelevant for Team USA, given that its wins in its first two World Cup games guaranteed that it would win Group D and advance to the Round of 32. However, the US squad will want to keep its current momentum going, and fans want to see the team continue its streak of success.

The fact that Thursday’s game is in LA means that many celebrities and sports icons will be around SoFi Stadium. This includes Lakers coach JJ Redick, as was conveyed Wednesday.

Redick and U.S. men’s soccer coach Mauricio Pochettino met Wednesday at SoFi Stadium, ahead of Pochettino’s news conference. The two head coaches shared a short, friendly conversation and then exchanged and signed each other’s jerseys.

Pochettino, upon learning that it was Redick’s birthday today, wished him a happy birthday and told him that it was also Argentine legend Lionel Messi’s birthday, as well as USMNT goalkeeper Matt Turner’s birthday.

“It was his birthday and Lio Messi’s birthday, so happy birthday to everyone. We were talking about how nice the stadium is. He said he was proud of the job the USA is doing. We talked about the NBA draft. I asked him if he was coming to the game tomorrow, and he said unfortunately no, he had other plans with his wife. It was nice to meet him; we were friendly, and we had a nice conversation,” Pochettino said.

The fact that Redick found the time to greet Pochettino is impressive, given that the Lakers are in the midst of the 2026 NBA Draft. They traded with the Knicks to snag Baylor’s Cameron Carr in the first round Tuesday. The Lakers made a deal with the Bulls to move into the second round Wednesday night.

While Redick won’t be in the building Thursday, he’ll surely be tuned into Team USA’s result, even though it won’t impact the team’s World Cup future.

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