Mauricio Pochettino put the United States on a roll World Cup.
The Americans qualified for the round of 16 with fun and furious football as delighted crowds rocked stadiums with chants of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” in front of record television audiences. And Pochettino, a former Argentine player who had coached in some of Europe’s biggest leagues, was in the middle of it all, encouraging and embracing the passion that was building behind the team in a large country with limited footballing success.
The bond between coach and country seemed so bright that even when the United States were knocked out in yet another round of 16 defeat, Pochettino signed a deal. four-year extension to lead a group of promising and talented players through the 2030 World Cup.
Maybe it’s time to start again.
Pochettino Thursday was make a deal to be the manager of Manchester United in the English Premier League. The news came two days before the United States opens CONCACAF Nations League play against Haiti on Saturday.
“I can’t thank him enough, whether he’s a coach or not,” American midfielder Sebastian Berhalter said Thursday. “He means so much to me. He’s helped me develop as a player and as a person. As a player, that’s all I can ask for, to have that confidence and belief.”
The Argentine coach led an American resurgence
Pochettino had never coached a national team before taking over the US program in 2024. He was best known for his European club stints with Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
A move to Manchester United would put him in charge of one of the biggest clubs in the biggest league in the world. United have won 20 English league titles, tied for the most in history, but the last one was in 2013 and the club is currently 18th out of 20 in the table.
If the season ended today, Manchester United would be relegated to the lower division. Pochettino would be asked to save the team from such humiliation.
American players attribute instill a hardera more resilient mindset. Playing at home, the United States won back-to-back World Cup matches for the first time since 1930 and exited the group stage with one match to play. The three victories in a single World Cup also set a new benchmark.
After a 2-0 win over Australia, Pochettino soaked up the chants and celebrations.
“Today, even though I’m not American, after the match I was emotional,” Pochettino said. “It was an amazing and perfect connection between the energy in the stands and the energy of the team.”
Berhalter said Pochettino exploited this with the players.
“He made us even more proud to be American and I think that says a lot about who he is as a person and as a coach,” Berhalter said.
The series ended with a resounding 4-1 defeat against Belgium in the round of 16. But the good atmosphere between coach and country was still present when Pochettino signed his extension in August and Pochettino reflected on the “magic” of the tournament.
Pochettino was not in the United States for the announcement. He was at home in Spain. And he also left himself a way out.
“Four years is a very long time. You never know what can happen in football,” Pochettino said. “Today, people really like you. In eight weeks, maybe this change(s), this feeling.”
He has long been admired by Manchester United, and a break clause in his US contract opened the door for United to act as the club has struggled this season under Michael Carrick, who was fired on Thursday.
Coaching search begins with eyes on Guardiola
The 2030 World Cup will be played in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, and U.S. soccer officials will likely move quickly to find a new coach to kick off preparations.
They would have their eyes on one of the biggest names in sport: Spaniard Pep Guardiola.
Guardiola has won big wherever he has coached in top professional soccer leagues: three La Liga championships with Barcelona in Spain, three Bundesliga titles with Bayern Munich in Germany and six Premier League championships with Manchester City in England.
But the 55-year-old has never coached a national team, much less an American team which, according to Pochettino, before the World Cup, did not have a single player among the world’s top 100.
This is very different from professional teams who spend huge sums of money on top players. An investigative report published in September accused Manchester City of bending fair play and financial rules to build squads for Guardiola’s most dominant teams.
Or American soccer officials could look to Major League Soccer to find the next coach. American coaches have had success in the past. Bruce Arena led the United States to the quarterfinals in 2002. Bob Bradley (2010) and Gregg Berhalter (2022) also took the Americans to the round of 16.
The next coach will inherit a team that was among the youngest in the 2026 World Cup, with an average age of 26. America’s rising stars include forward Folarin Balogun, 25, who scored three goals, and defender Alex Freeman, 22.
Balogun praised Pochettino for raising the level of play of the American team.
“He laid the foundations and I think we players have that ownership, not just because Poch was in charge,” Balogun said. “Whether he is here or not, the United States will look to replace him with another top coach.”
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AP Sports Writer Graham Dunbar in Geneva contributed to this report.
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