Mauricio Pochettino expected to be named new USMNT coach, sources confirm

Former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager Mauricio Pochettino is expected to be named the next coach of the United States men’s national team, sources with knowledge of the situation confirmed to FOX Sports on Thursday.

Multiple media outlets in England reported late Wednesday and early Thursday that the Argentine had agreed to take the U.S. job. No contract had been signed as of Thursday morning, and the U.S. Soccer Federation’s board of directors has not yet signed off on any deal, one source said. But those are considered formalities at this point. 

Barring any late snags, Pochettino will replace Gregg Berhalter as USMNT coach. Berhalter led the Americans to the second round of the 2022 World Cup but was fired on July 10, a little more than a week after the U.S. was eliminated in the group stage of the Copa América on home soil. Pochettino’s camp first met with U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker in Europe the week of July 15, according to multiple sources. 

Pochettino is considered one of the top coaches in the global game — and probably the best available manager on the open market after former Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp rebuffed an initial approach from U.S. Soccer. Landing the 52-year-old is a huge coup for the USSF. The affable Pochettino, who is fluent in both English and Spanish, will immediately become the face of the men’s program upon his arrival.

With the 2026 World Cup co-hosted stateside (and in Canada and Mexico), Crocker had set his sights on recruiting an elite coach to lead the men’s team. The Welshman has already accomplished that on the women’s side; last weekend, former Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes won the country’s fifth Olympic gold medal in just her 10th game at the helm of the USWNT.

Crocker and Pochettino have history. They previously worked together at English club Southampton when Crocker oversaw the Saints’ youth academy. The latter took humble Southampton to an eighth place finish in the Premier League in his lone season in 2023-24 before moving on to a successful five-year run at Tottenham Hotspur. Pochettino led Spurs to their highest Prem points totals ever and a Champions League runner-up medal in 2019.

He then won the French Cup and Ligue 1 in his two seasons at PSG before returning to London last summer with Chelsea. Pochettino took the Blues from 12th to sixth in England’s top flight before leaving, to the surprise of many, after the 2023-24 campaign.

Pochettino began his coaching career with Spanish side Espanyol in 2009. As a player, the former central defender amassed 20 caps for Argentina and participated in the 2002 World Cup. He has a few ties to American soccer, having coached current USMNT center back Cameron Carter-Vickers and former U.S. World Cup players Brad Friedel and DeAndre Yedlin during his time at Tottenham.

Pochettino was one of several high-profile coaches that the federation had initial conversations with either directly or through intermediaries. Others include Klopp, former England coach Gareth Southgate and Hoffenheim manager Pellegrino Matarazzo, the only American head coach working in one of Europe’s top four leagues.

Pochettino was one of the highest-paid coaches in the club game at Chelsea and PSG, and will almost certainly become the best-compensated national team boss in the world once he officially signs on with the U.S. Hayes is the top earner on the women’s side.

The USMNT’s next match is a Sept. 7 friendly against Canada in Kansas City.

Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports. A former staff writer with ESPN and Yahoo Sports, he has covered U.S. men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.

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