Mauricio Pochettino, the former manager of Tottenham and Chelsea, is allegedly the top contender for U.S. Soccer’s open head coaching position for the U.S. Men’s National Team. The position has been unfilled since Gregg Berhalter left after Copa America. The Athletic reports that Pochettino is the front-runner for the position, and U.S. Soccer has contacted the Argentine coach about the position.
Pochettino would be a big addition to the USMNT coaching staff since he would bring expertise and name recognition to the position. The Argentine has achieved great success, especially with Southampton and Tottenham in the Premier League.
With the 2026 World Cup being held in their own country, the USMNT has a little window of time to prepare. This summer, Berhalter was fired after the United States had a historically poor finish in the Copa America group stage.
Rafa Benitez, Luis de la Fuente, Patrick Vieira, Pellegrino Matarazzo, and others have all been mentioned as potential managers, thus Pochettino is not the only manager connected to the position.
During Pochettino’s one-year time at Southampton, he temporarily worked alongside Matt Crocker, the sporting director of U.S. Soccer, who was in charge of the team’s academy.
During the September international window, the United States is scheduled to play Canada and New Zealand. Crocker has previously expressed his intention to have a coach in place by that time. If not, Mikey Varas, the manager of the U.S. U-20 team, may assume leadership for those two games in order to allow the program more time to find a new hire.