September 10 – After weeks of speculation Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as the next manager of the United States men’s national team is on the verge of being confirmed according to multiple reports on both sides of the Atlantic.
The US Soccer Federation’s board of directors are reportedly set to meet to confirm the hiring of Pochettino who has not taken another job since leaving Chelsea last season after steering them to sixth place.
Should Pochettino be hired, it would mean both Chelsea’s men’s and women’s first-team managers from last season would now be at the helm of the senior US national teams with Emma Hayes drafted in to take over the women.
Pochettino has never coached at the international level despite significant experience at Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain.
Joint hosts of the 2026 World Cup, the USA badly needs a reset after losing on home soil to Canada on Saturday for the first time in 67 years, with most of the team’s top players on the pitch. It was their first match since a humiliating first-round elimination at the Copa America
“All we can do is put ourselves in the best position so that if an announcement is made in the near future that we’re ready, that we’re confident going into to the next step for this federation,” said U.S. midfielder Christian Pulisic. “We need to show that no matter who is the coach is that we’re willing to fight and willing to give the best for this country and that we want to win games.”
Pochettino appears likely to take over for friendlies against Panama on October 12 and Mexico three days later. He would become the first foreign-born coach to head the U.S. since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011-16.
“Sometimes when someone new comes in, yeah, it gives everyone a bit of an extra push and say, you know what, I need to show a little bit extra. I need to give a good first impression,” Pulisic said. “It can change a little bit of the mentality, a little bit of the culture.”
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