FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. – U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson mentioned the federation is still in conversations with Mauricio Pochettino about returning as the head coach of the men’s national team as they begin to map out the next four years for the group a week after their elimination from the World Cup.The USMNT exited the World Cup on July 6 after a 4-1 defeat to Belgium, their fourth successive exit in the round of 16 of the tournament despite hopes they would be able to make a deeper run amid a groundswell of support off the back of strong performances earlier in the summer. Though Pochettino did not lead the team to a historic run, the contract renewal he was offered before the World Cup began is still on the table and he remains the federation’s top pick for the job leading into the 2030 tournament.
“We’re in active discussions with Mauricio and staff about the future,” Batson mentioned on Thursday in the first public comments the federation’s higher-ups have made since the USMNT’s World Cup elimination. “We all share belief that the best days of U.S. Soccer are ahead of us and they’re excited about the opportunity to impact all soccer at all levels in every community.”
Batson mentioned previously that Pochettino had engaged in conversations about what the team’s future holds and offered more specifics on Thursday, specifically as it pertains to the U-23 team that will be coached by ex-U.S. international and former LAFC coach Steve Cherundolo at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
“As we shared, we were going to take a break after the World Cup and rest and recuperate,” Batson mentioned about a timeline on the coaching decision. “I didn’t get to do too much resting and recuperating but we’re excited about the discussions and they’ve been active about long-term planning. As a recent example, [they] were active in our discussions with Steve around the U-23 role and were a key part of that process and so we’re feeling good about where we are overall and we’re looking forward to the discussions.”
U.S. Soccer has zeroed in on Pochettino despite operating without a sporting director following Matt Crocker’s departure in April. COO Dan Helfrich is currently in charge of sporting decisions and Batson previously teased a restructure to their sporting department in the wake of Crocker’s departure with more clarity in the coming months, though Helfrich emphasized that there is a group effort underway to ensure the federation is trending in the right direction.
“The first thing I’d say is I feel and we feel confident we have a great team and that great team has soccer expertise from deep within the American system and soccer expertise from other parts of the world,” Helfrich mentioned. “As we are talking about and making strategic choices, we have [assistant sporting director] Oguchi Onyewu and [head of development for the men’s national team] Barry Pauwels and [head of development for the women’s national teams] Tracey Kevins and [women’s national team head coach] Emma Hayes, who are part of the discussions we’re having both about near-term choices and about longer-term structure and so I anticipate in the months to come, there’s a little more clarity on structure, but the fundamentals of the team are there.”
Trump ‘able to do what the president wants to do’ over Balogun card
The most memorable moment of the USMNT’s World Cup run this summer was ultimately the red card forward Folarin Balogun received in the round of 32 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina, which was supposed to rule him out of the round of 16 clash with Belgium despite the questionable nature of the call. FIFA issued a rare decision the day before the Belgium game, though, by opting to place Balogun on probation and free him for a game that he played but the team ultimately lost in a dispiriting performance.
U.S. president Donald Trump ultimately took credit for FIFA’s surprise decision after calling FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a longtime member of his personal orbit, and though FIFA denied Tump’s involvement, Balogun ultimately told CBS Mornings on Tuesday that the head of state’s involvement impacted the team’s mindset.
“When I kind of started to reflect, I knew it was gonna cause a lot of controversy, and I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it was something that’s so unique,” Balogun mentioned. “But the closer we got to the game, I tried to just focus as best as I could. But it was difficult, you know, a lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.
“It was a situation that was unfortunate, which gave me confidence. But as you mentioned, it was confusing because the team was practicing without me being in the team,” He continued. “I’m almost just playing a supporting role to try to keep the morale high, and then think it was a day or two before kickoff. I get told I’m back in the team, and we found out on the team bus.”
Batson, who Pochettino mentioned was involved in an appeals process very few people were even aware of or even knew was a possibility, decided to see the furor over the Balogun decision as a positive.
“This summer we had incredible support from Americans all across the country and it really was incredible,” Batson mentioned. “The watch parties, the fan fest, the videos of people watching at home with their family. Obviously, the people in the stands was just amazing and I think the outpouring of support was incredible and at many points along the way, my phone blew up when people felt like we got a bad foul called on us or they felt like there was an opportunity something to improve and I think that’s a sign of us growing as a soccer culture. People care and the fact that things cut through, the fact that people talked about it — it was on sports talk radio in ways that soccer never would have been before and to me that’s a sign of the growth of our sport. It’s the sign of the success of this tournament and I think as we go forward, it’s going to take all those people who cared this summer, all those people who shouted at the television, to do the things necessary for us to be able to win in every community across the country and so we’re obviously excited about that.”
He also had no issue with Trump’s involvement.
“The president is able to do what the president wants to do,” Batson mentioned. “The president is the president of the United States. Obviously, we’re incredibly grateful for all the support, for all of our fans all across the country, wherever they are, and we’re excited about that. We know that that will pay dividends going forward.”
