SEATTLE — Four summers from now, assuming qualification will not trip it up, the U.S. will enter the centennial World Cup spread across six countries on two continents seeking to take that elusive next step.
Following Monday’s humbling elimination in the Round of 16 by Belgium — the fifth loss in six tries since 1994 they’ve departed at that point — the Americans will catch their breath and begin pivoting to the 2030 competition in Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
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Where things stand …
Who will coach the team?
The general consensus was Mauricio Pochettino would return to the European club scene as soon as the World Cup ended. On a 20-month contract after Gregg Berhalter’s ouster, the 54-year-old Argentine was seen as a high-cost mercenary entrusted to prepare the U.S. for a home World Cup. Nothing more.
Summer is prime hiring season and, with a long playing and coaching background in Europe and homes in London and Barcelona, Pochettino figured to head back across the Atlantic.
That’s not because he didn’t enjoy coaching here or appreciate the program-record $6 million salary. It’s just common for a World Cup boss to seek new adventures when the job is done, no matter how well the team fared.
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But both Pochettino and the U.S. Soccer Federation have suggested they could extend their alliance for another cycle. Talks are expected to resume soon.
“We had positive conversations with Mauricio before the World Cup about the future,” the USSF said in a written statement Tuesday. “We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post World Cup.
“We have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Mauricio, his staff and everyone part of the program. We have shared excitement about our potential and also shared clarity about the amount of work at all levels still required to achieve our ambition.”
Mauricio Pochettino’s first World Cup with the U.S. ended in disappointment. Whether it was also his last remains uncertain.
(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Belying the image of a short-term fix, Pochettino came to embrace the USSF’s long-term project. Whether the federation sees him as the steward of the team remains unclear.
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Pochettino was hired by sporting director Matt Crocker, who abruptly bolted the USSF in April to work for a Saudi apparatus needing to build up its program before the country hosts the 2034 World Cup. No replacement was named.
To retain Pochettino, would the USSF be willing to hand him greater powers to shape not only the senior team but the pipeline to the top squad? With a spectacular national training center now open in the Atlanta area, the pieces are in place for greater integration and higher ambitions.
Should Pochettino decide to move on, the USSF undoubtedly will conduct a worldwide search. Jesse Marsch, an American guiding Canada, would have been a candidate, but he remains wickedly bitter about being passed over for the job when Berhalter was rehired in the summer of 2023.
What about the players?
This was their moment. Half the roster arrived with World Cup experience. The core players were in their mid-to-late 20s. Many are with clubs in top European leagues. The matches were at home in front of monster crowds.
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Four years from now, Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie will be 31, Chris Richards and Tim Weah 30 and Antonee Robinson 32. Most, if not all, will maintain active status entering the next cycle, but by 2030, will they have passed their peak?
Pochettino identified and integrated newcomers, such as Alex Freeman, 21, and Sebastian Berhalter, 25. His trust in Malik Tillman, 24, paid dividends and his belief in Gio Reyna, 23, got the enigmatic midfielder back on track. Strikers Folarin Balogun and right wing Sergiño Dest are 25, and striker Ricardo Pepi is 23.
At 38, captain Tim Ream’s international career will end. Whoever is in charge will need to determine whether goalkeeper Matt Freese has a future in the international arena.
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Injuries took midfielder Johnny Cardoso, 24, and forward Patrick Agyemang, 25, out of World Cup contention, and Pochettino made waves by not choosing midfielders Aidan Morris, Tanner Tessmann (both 24) and Diego Luna, 22.
Just 23, midfielder Yunus Musah is poised to reemerge after a lost year in Italy cost him a World Cup slot.
A wild card in the roster rebuilding is Noahkai Banks, a 19-year-old center back at Bundesliga club Augsburg who withdrew from World Cup consideration because he was undecided whether to represent the U.S. or Germany.
The hottest prospect from Major League Soccer is Zavier Gozo, a 19-year-old Real Salt Lake winger. Philadelphia forward Cavan Sullivan will be closely monitored when he turns 18 and moves to Europe late next year. A trio of Red Bull New York teenagers, led by Julian Hall, is on the rise under coach Michael Bradley, the former World Cup standout.
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Goalkeeping prospects include Diego Kochen, 20, and Chris Brady, 22, the No. 3 choice at the World Cup.
The players began departing the team hotel early Tuesday. Many will welcome vacations before club preseasons begin. Others will rejoin their sides for the resumption of the MLS season after the World Cup break.
The national team will not regroup until a new, extended international window commences, Sept. 21 to Oct. 6.
Teams are allowed to play up to four matches, and the U.S. is planning to play four at home. Details are being worked out. Because of Nations League commitments, European teams aren’t available. South Americans are.
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The U.S. will enter Concacaf Nations League play in November with the two-leg quarterfinals. The final four is in March. The next tournament is the Concacaf Gold Cup next summer.
The 2030 World Cup isn’t so far away: Concacaf qualifying begins late next year.
