Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. Soccer Federation are working on a deal for him to become the men’s national team coach, according to someone familiar with the talks who spoke to The Associated Press.
Pochettino, who has previously coached Tottenham, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain, has agreed to take the job, but the agreement isn’t finalized yet, the source said Thursday, requesting to remain anonymous because the deal isn’t complete.
Pochettino would take over from Gregg Berhalter less than 22 months before the U.S. hosts the 2026 World Cup. The USSF has not commented on the situation.
The 52-year-old Argentine would be the first foreign-born coach of the U.S. team since Jurgen Klinsmann, who was in charge from 2011 to 2016. Pochettino has also coached Espanyol in Spain (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19), and Chelsea (2023-24) in England, and Paris Saint-Germain in France (2021-22), where he left after winning a Ligue 1 title.
Matt Crocker, the USSF’s sporting director responsible for the search, was Southampton’s academy director when Pochettino began at that club.
The U.S. has four friendly matches coming up: against Canada on Sept. 7, New Zealand three days later, Panama on Oct. 12, and one more opponent on Oct. 15. Their next competitive games are a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal in November.
Mikey Varas, a current assistant to Berhalter, might manage the team for the September matches, with Pochettino possibly taking over for the October games.
Berhalter was dismissed on July 10, a week after the U.S. was knocked out of the Copa America in the first round. He was first hired in December 2018, left after a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the second round of the 2022 World Cup, and was rehired in June 2023 to return in September.
Pochettino would inherit a squad led by Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, and Tyler Adams, who have done well with European clubs.
However, goalkeepers Matt Turner and Ethan Horvath, and midfielder Gio Reyna have not played much with top teams, while Chris Richards, at Crystal Palace in England, is the only central defender in his 20s who regularly plays with a top European club.
