Pochettino Re-signs with US Soccer thru 2030

ATLANTA, GA–Mauricio Pochettino will continue on as coach of the US Men’s National Team after signing an extension through the 2030 World Cup. The deal also involves he and the coaching staff advising and supporting  U.S. Soccer on the broader development of the full National Team pathway, youth soccer, coaching education, professional league collaboration and other technical facets across the soccer community.

“Working together with U.S. Soccer over the past two years, it has become clear to us that there is tremendous potential to make the Men’s National Team program even stronger,” said Pochettino. “The passion we experienced from the fans throughout the World Cup only strengthened our belief in what is possible here. We are excited by the opportunity to bring all our experience and knowledge to even more areas of U.S. Soccer while helping strengthen the pathways for players, coaches and teams across the Federation. We want to try to have a lasting impact on the sport in the country that has welcomed us so warmly and for that impact to extend beyond results on the field.”

Pochettino was reported to have been offered an extension during this past World Cup, but waited on making a decision until Monday. He led the USMNT to a record three wins at the World Cup, but the team crashed in the Round of 16 against Belgium, 4-1, in Seattle. He currently has a 17-12-2 in 31 matches (one draw resulted in a penalty shootout win in the Concacaf Gold Cup), including a 3-2-0 mark at the World Cup and an 0-2-0 record against rival Mexico. Still US Soccer sees potential with Pochettino continuing as head coach and having more say in regards to other technical facets within US Soccer.

“Mauricio and his staff believe in the future of soccer in the United States and our new project allows us to build on progress of the USMNT and the momentum of U.S. Soccer,” said U.S. Soccer CEO and Secretary General JT Batson. “We know we have a lot of work to do to achieve our clear ambitions, including competing to win Men’s World Cups and having soccer become the most played sport in every community. I couldn’t be more excited that Mauricio and team are committed to partnering with all of us to do the hard work to bring those ambitions to life.”

Since 1990, just one coach has made it through two full World Cup cycles and that was Bruce Arena who coached from 1998 to 2006 (and again during the failed 2017 qualifying campaign). Bob Bradley, Juergen Klinsmann, and Gregg Berhalter all initially carried on past a World Cup, but all three were eventually replaced during the second cycle following poor results either in qualifying in Klinsmann’s case or at a major tournament in Bradley’s and Berhalter’s case.

While the USA did not have to qualify as a co-host of the 2026 World Cup, it will need to for 2030 in a World Cup co-hosts by Spain, Morocco, Portugal, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay. There is a likelihood that the USMNT will also participate in the 2028 Copa American in addition to Concacaf Gold Cups and Nations Leagues.

COMMENT:  The 2026 cycle provided an incomplete picture of whether progress was made since Pochettino began with the USMNT in 2024. The progress that was made in the group stages and the Round of 32 match against Bosnia was offset by the loss to Belgium. The goal for the next World Cup will need to be at least quarterfinals and the same for the 2028 Cope America. Qualifying for 2030 will not be the most difficult compared to, say, 2018, but the long term challenge is to build on what progress was made from the 2026 World Cup and then build a true identity of how the USA should play on the international stage instead of trying to copy the latest fad internationally.

Pochettino is staying which provides stability, but four years is a long time in international soccer and while progress will not always be linear like it wasn’t in the lead up to the 2026 World Cup, There will need to be more clear signs that the USMNT program is going forward towards 2030.

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