U.S. Soccer is set to hire Mauricio Pochettino as the next head coach of the U.S. men’s national team, according to multiple reports late Wednesday and early Thursday.
Pochettino, who departed Chelsea earlier this summer, would succeed Gregg Berhalter, who was fired last month after an earlier-than-expected Copa América exit.
The 52-year-old Argentine would be the most accomplished coach to ever lead the USMNT, and the big-swing hire that many hoped for ahead of the 2026 World Cup.
He would also surely command the most lucrative salary that U.S. Soccer has ever paid anybody. Berhalter’s base salary was in the region of $1.6 million annually. Pochettino reportedly made upward of $10 million per year at his last two clubs, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
It’s unclear when Pochettino would officially take charge of the USMNT, or when his contract would be finalized. U.S. Soccer has neither announced nor confirmed the hire.
Mauricio Pochettino’s résumé
Pochettino emerged as a leading candidate earlier this month, and was courted persistently by U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker. Crocker initially crossed paths with Pochettino, albeit briefly, a decade ago at Southampton, the English club that served as Pochettino’s launching pad to the top of the profession.
After one impressive season (2013-14) there, Pochettino leapt to Tottenham Hotspur, where he helped lift a wobbling team from the fringes of the Premier League top six into the top three, and to a Champions League final in 2019.
A few months into the following season, he was fired; but over those five seasons at Tottenham, he established himself as one of the world’s top club coaches, and the type who’d seemingly fit well with a still-young USMNT.
After Spurs and a year-long hiatus, in early 2021, Pochettino went to Paris Saint-Germain, one of three European clubs who’d employed him during his 17-year playing career. Their reunion, though, was an awkward one. As a coach, Pochettino’s aggressive, physically demanding, high-pressing style clashed with a roster built around three superstars: Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé. After 18 months of sub-standard results, he was sacked.
After another yearlong break, in the summer of 2023, Pochettino returned to England and took charge of Chelsea. His one and only season there, on the surface, ended disappointingly in sixth place. The disappointment, though, was mostly the product of a dreadful first few months. After Christmas, his record at Chelsea was 12W-5D-3L. The trend was upward. His ouster, therefore, was a surprise — and widely ridiculed as yet another example of Chelsea’s cluelessness and volatility.
Pochettino’s fit with USMNT
Pochettino’s history speaks to both his potential, and potential challenges at the helm of the USMNT.
His approach to soccer jibes well with a USMNT that’s at its best on the front foot, maximizing its athleticism. But Pochettino has never managed a national team, where coaches get far less time to actually teach principles and implement tactical systems in training sessions.
At some of his clubs, he has needed time to do just that. Even at Tottenham, his first season ended in fifth place, with the club’s worst Premier League point haul in four years. It was in Year 2 and Year 3 that his revolution produced results.
His runway with the USMNT, though — from this fall through the 2026 World Cup — will be the equivalent of less than one club season. He will have somewhere in the region of 16 friendlies (exhibition games) and a dozen competitive matches against inferior regional foes between now and the USMNT’s World Cup opener on June 12, 2026. In most cases, he will only have one or two legitimate training sessions prior to each of those games to mold the USMNT like he molded Southampton, Tottenham or Chelsea.
So, the hire is a risky one. It’s a big swing, but not necessarily a home run.
Pochettino’s first game in charge could be a Sept. 7 friendly against Canada in Kansas City.
