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Will lure of Europe threaten fresh Pochettino-USMNT partnership?playNicol: Pochettino changed the identity of the USMNT (0:51)Jeff Carlisle
ESPN Staff Writer
Four more years. Despite the declared springtime flirtations with AC Milan, despite the bitterly disappointing round-of-16 exit at the hands of Belgium, Mauricio Pochettino has signed on to remain U.S. men’s national team manager through the 2030 FIFA World Cup.
Considering how impressive the USMNT looked throughout much of this summer’s tournament, that is undoubtedly good news. But in the month since getting bounced by the Belgians, there have been a lot of questions about Pochettino’s fit within U.S. Soccer for the long term.
So, to help try to get some clarity on the situation, ESPN turned to resident U.S. men’s national team experts Jeff Carlisle, Bill Connelly, Cesar Hernandez and Lizzy Becherano to help explain what has worked for Pochettino and the U.S., where they can improve, and how likely it is that he sticks around for the length of his new four-year contract.
Carlisle: In a word, accountability. The lack of this was a real issue when he arrived. Players had become complacent. While it took a while for the concept to take root, it finally did. No one’s spot was safe. Playing time had to be earned. The buy-in was apparent at the World Cup. This will need to continue from the jump during the upcoming cycle. Pochettino needs to bring in new players early on in order to challenge the incumbents, and keep the player pool fluid. Otherwise, he’ll find himself in exactly the same spot Gregg Berhalter did in 2024, as a manager of a group that doesn’t feel their spot on the team is under threat.
Connelly: Despite his core group of starters having barely played together over the previous four-year cycle, Pochettino got his guys playing cohesive ball and a style that seemed to maximize their athleticism advantages. (He also took a quick liking to, and clearly enhanced the development of, Alex Freeman.) It was a reminder of what he created with his old Tottenham Hotspur teams — only without the baked-in liabilities of trying to get guys to run that hard for an entire club season. It was fun, and it was successful, at least until everything that led to them playing like the lights were just too bright against Belgium.
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Hernandez: You have to give him credit for the way the identity and culture of the squad changed after he stepped in. Sure, there’s a cognitive dissonance with what he preached and leaving someone like Diego Luna off the team, but this is a manager who still brought in and elevated the entire roster. American soccer will benefit from having more figures like that in the modern era, and we can’t overlook managers like Pochettino.
Becherano: Pochettino’s arrival elevated the level of competition through discipline, mentality and passion. Tim Ream previously pointed out that even in training sessions “everything matters,” forcing players to take on a new approach to international duty.
“Everything matters, right? And I think that’s more what [Pochettino’s] desire and his meaning is, is that everything counts,” the Charlotte FC center back reported. “Everything matters every single day from the minute you wake up until you go to sleep. And it’s important to understand that and understand what he wants, and that shines and shows through in training sessions … They’re intense.”
Pochettino was transparent about wanting to implement a new culture within U.S. Soccer that mimicked the passion he grew up with in Argentina. He found a way to do so in both training and matches, and for that he should be recognized.
Carlisle: Ignore what he can’t control. There were times when Pochettino seemed to chafe over aspects of American soccer culture that neither he nor the team could influence. I’m thinking specifically of the crowds at the 2025 Gold Cup in which U.S. fans were outnumbered. Then there were his comments after friendly defeats to Belgium and Portugal about how the U.S. didn’t have players in the top 100 in the world.
Pochettino doesn’t have control over either of these things. In both cases, while what Pochettino reported was true to a certain extent, it sounded like he was making excuses. This helps no one, least of all the players. His initial foray into World Cup qualifying this cycle will be rife with uncomfortable moments. Pochettino will need to accept these realities, otherwise qualifying will be harder than it needs to be.
Connelly: Acknowledging that their poor performance against Belgium featured unique external factors thanks to the Folarin Balogun affair, playing wide-open and aggressive ball comes with a pretty clear risk: good teams might rip you to shreds. That’s doubly true when maybe the single weakest component of your player pool at the moment is depth and pure upside at center back.
Mauricio Pochettino has signed a new contract that will keep him in charge of the U.S. men’s national team through the 2030 World Cup. Cao Can/Xinhua via Getty ImagesAgainst the six most highly ranked (per FIFA) opponents they’ve played this year, the U.S. allowed 18 goals. This style could help to make them more upset-proof, which will come in handy in World Cup qualification, but you can’t overwhelm more high-quality opponents in the same way, at least not without leaving yourself too vulnerable.Hernandez: Was he good at dual-national recruitment? In the never-ending battle for valuable Mexican-American talent, El Tri picked up more talent in recent years (hello, Brian Gutiérrez and Obed Vargas) when it comes to players who could have gained minutes for either national team. Vargas has now set himself up as an important midfielder abroad, while Gutiérrez is close to doing the same (if Chivas let him leave)
Becherano: The U.S. showed moments of brilliance under Pochettino, particularly in the group stage games against Paraguay and Australia. The USMNT controlled each game, progressing the ball into dangerous areas and creating chances to stun opponents. The former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager’s impact could be seen through the team’s organization on the field, tactical development and passion. But it quickly faded.
It felt like the team that faced Belgium in the round of 16 could not have been the country that dominated the first two matches. In this new chapter under Pochettino, the team must emphasize consistency. The talent and potential to succeed exists, but there is work to do on maintaining that level throughout a tournament.
Carlisle: It’s very real. Granted, Pochettino’s history has been one of either getting fired, or finishing out the season and then moving on to a new job, but four years is a long time in the sport of soccer and he may find that the slog of World Cup qualifying — interrupted by competitions like the Concacaf Nations League and Gold Cup — doesn’t exactly get his competitive juices flowing.
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Much will depend on the contract language Pochettino and U.S. Soccer were able to agree on. If the financial penalty that has to be paid by a prospective team to hire him is too great, then he likely stays. But thought of another way, how bitter will he be if he misses out on an attractive job because the prospective club felt his release clause was too pricey? The timing of Pochettino’s hiring back in 2024, with a home World Cup approaching, helped make the U.S. job attractive, and helped fend off advances. There seems to be less of that now. The USSF needs to have a backup plan just in case.
Connelly: Obviously less real now! Pochettino clearly decided that the combination of money on offer and the lack of clear club opportunities meant that re-signing was his best option. And there will be plenty to keep him busy (but not too busy) over the next four years.
Still, four years is a really long time. The past four years, after all, were long enough for the U.S. to basically fire Berhalter twice and still give Pochettino a year and a half with the job! Poch will be 58 at the end of the next four-year cycle, and the chances of him leaving for a particularly good opportunity are definitely not 0%. That threat might linger, but the money’s good, and again, four years is a long time. Too long to worry much about it at this stage.
Hernandez: This is a manager who has had some very obvious flirtation with European club soccer. If I were Pochettino, I would also love to go back to the Premier League and prove myself as opposed to dealing with a national team. Perhaps the paycheck says otherwise
Becherano: Pochettino has been extremely transparent about wanting to return to Europe one day.
“The Premier League is the best in the world. Of course I miss it. I am so happy in the USA, but I am always thinking about returning one day,” Pochettino told the BBC in December. “It is the most competitive league, and of course I would love to come back again.”
However, I don’t think that his long-term goals of returning to Europe will impact the commitment he has made to coaching the USMNT. He has built a project that I believe he intends to finish in 2030 (which could conceivably include a match in his native Argentina) if all goes well.
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