Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the next head coach of the U.S. men’s national soccer team, as per sources with knowledge of the situation.
The news of the expected hire of the former Tottenham and Chelsea head coach is significant for a U.S. fanbase looking for a big-name manager after former USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter was fired following a group-stage exit in the Copa America this summer.
The Athletic reported last week that Pochettino was a top target for the opening, though sources briefed on the search said the federation was still considering multiple candidates at the time. However, Pochettino was seen by some as the favorite in the pool, with U.S. Soccer engaged in conversations with his camp.
Pochettino has never managed a national team, but the Argentine has had plenty of success at club level. He guided Southampton to an eighth-place finish in the Premier League in 2013, achieved record league finishes with Spurs, including a Champions League final appearance in 2019 and secured a Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain. Most recently, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish and European qualification before departing at the end of the 2023-24 season.
U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker and Pochettino overlapped during the coach’s year at Southampton. Crocker led Southampton’s academy at the time. He left in November 2013 to join England’s Football Association.
Crocker previously said U.S. Soccer wouldn’t be limited by financial restrictions for the coaching hire.
“It’s a really competitive market out there, salary-wise, and we have to be competitive to get the level of coach that I believe can take the program forward in terms of achieving the results that we want on the field,” Crocker said. “It’s a priority. It’s something we’re prepared to invest in and something that we will be investing in.”
Once the deal is finalized, Pochettino would be the team’s most high-profile coach since Jurgen Klinsmann, a World Cup winner. Klinsmann coached the German national team and Bayern Munich before taking on the U.S. job, but his fame came more from his on-field accomplishments as a player. Pochettino has made his name as a manager, with teams that use positional play to try to dominate space, but that also like to press and attack opposition.
This story will be updated.
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