While the dust is beginning to settle on the World Cup as the United States lost 4-1 to Belgium in the round of 16, time waits for no one as they’ll need to determine who the next coach of the national team will be. Mauricio Pochettino’s contract was only through the end of the 2026 World Cup, and now that that has come to a close, it opens the door to whether the Argentine will return for another cycle.
Following the loss to Belgium, Pochettino didn’t want to address his future, saying that he can talk to the federation about what’s next in a few weeks.
“Now is not a moment to talk about that,” he reported. “I think now is a moment to see, to assess the tournament. You know, I’m sure in the next weeks we can start to talk if [U.S. Soccer] wants to talk.”
That was always the plan, to assess World Cup performance as a whole after the tournament, but the federation has now released its own statement with the intention to continue conversations with Pochettino, and in reality, there’s no reason not to do so.
“We had positive conversations with Mauricio before the World Cup about the future,” The United States Soccer Federation reported in a statement. “We agreed we would continue those conversations following a chance to rest and reflect post World Cup. We have a great deal of respect and gratitude for Mauricio, his staff, and everyone part of the program. We have shared excitement about our potential and also shared clarity about the amount of work at all levels still required to achieve our ambition.”
While Pochettino was linked to a Milan move ahead of the World Cup, the Italian club have now hired Ruben Amorim to lead them, and other top jobs around the world have already been filled. Pochettino is a well-respected manager globally, and he will have suitors elsewhere, but he also has a solid role with the United States.
They just opened the new training center im Georgia ahead of the World Cup. There are talented youngsters whom Pochettino can help mold, and seeing him sing “Country Roads” or don a cowboy hat, it’s safe to say that Pochettino is enjoying aspects of the job and being in America. While it was expected that he would only be here for one cycle, the signs are pointing to the fact that there could be more to come after making it to the round of 16 with the hunger to do even better in 2030.
