Pochettino is back. Today, U.S. Soccer announced that Mauricio Pochettino will continue as the United States Men’s National Team head coach after accepting a new deal that will keep him with the program through the 2030 World Cup.
The 54-year-old Argentine coach recently led the USMNT to the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. There had
been numerous reports prior to the tournament that the two sides had met to discuss a contract extension that would keep him around for another World Cup cycle. Pochettino took some time after the USMNT was eliminated from the World Cup to make his decision, but ultimately has signed on for four more years.
In 31 matches as the head coach of the USMNT since he joined in September 2024, Mauricio Pochettino holds a 17W-12L-2D record. At the World Cup, he set records for most World Cup wins by a USMNT coach, most USMNT wins at a single World Cup, and led the team to its first knockout stage win since 2002 and just second overall.
“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,” US Soccer CEO JT Batson said in a statement. “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.”
Pochettino’s signature on a new deal adds some continuity to the USMNT, which would have had to find its sixth coach since 2022 if he decided to move on. That continuity could prove to be invaluable as he seeks to expand the player pool and integrate younger players as the competitions keep coming.
“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,” Pochettino said in a statement. “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.”
Mauricio Pochettino will hit the ground running, as the competitions begin pretty quickly. The USMNT will have friendlies in the newly-created September-October international window before entering the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals in November. The USMNT will use that to qualify for the 2027 Concacaf Nations League Finals in March and next summer’s Gold Cup. Finally, 2030 World Cup qualifying will begin in the September-October 2027 window as the eyes of the world shift towards the 2030 tournament that will take place in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco with centenary matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay.
