After a World Cup that saw the U.S. men's national team win its group and play the most exciting soccer in program history, the USMNT will soon be looking at another coaching search.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino is set to be named the new manager for Manchester United, leaving the USMNT just months after re-signing for a second World Cup cycle at the helm. United fired manager Michael Carrick on Thursday after a dismal start to the Premier League season.
Now, there are some details that Manchester United needs to work out with U.S. Soccer — notably, a $10 million exit fee to release Pochettino from his USMNT contract. But when the dust settles, Pochettino is expected to lead the Red Devils following two CONCACAF Nations League matches agains
Haiti (Saturday and Tuesday).
Mauricio Pochettino to take charge of both USA games v Haiti before travelling to Manchester to start work as @ManUtd boss ahead of Liverpool game.
— Simon Stone (@sistoney67) November 12, 2026
There was always skepticism on whether Pochettino would make it to 2030 with the U.S., so him leaving this early in the cycle doesn't leave U.S. Soccer in the worst of positions.
The federation may even be in a spot to shock the sports world with its hire. These are the three candidates that should top the USSF's list.
Pep Guardiola
U.S. Soccer surprised many when it swung big and hired Pochettino (a former Spurs/PSG/Chelsea manager) to replace Gregg Berhalter. And early indications are that the USSF plans to swing for the absolute fences to replace Pochettino.
Guardiola is arguably the best soccer coach of all-time and one of the most decorated coaches in the sport's history. As manager, he's won six Premier League titles, three Champions League titles, topped both the Bundesliga and La Liga three times each and is a four-time Club World Cup champion. He's also on a coaching sabbatical after spending a decade with Manchester City.
It will be an ambitious pitch, but Guardiola spends much of his time living in New York (and enjoys the relative anonymity). He's also expressed interest in coaching a national team. U.S. Soccer could sell Guardiola on a relatively low-stress job while making him the highest-paid coach in international soccer. We'll have to see if Pep has any interest, but early reports suggest it isn't as farfetched as it sounds.
B.J. Callaghan
Only U.S. Soccer could have a coaching search that goes from Literally The Best Coach Ever to B.J. Callaghan, and I love that for them.
If Guardiola turns down the job, Callaghan will almost definitely be the federation's next call. The current Nashville SC coach led a Supporters' Shield-winning regular season campaign. He's one of the most impressive coaching talents in the sport and became somewhat of a cult legend in his interim stint with the USMNT.
Callaghan famously served as an interim replacement for Berhalter 1.0 and had the USMNT rolling through Mexico and Canada en route to a Nations League title in 2023. Before Pochettino, no coach had been able to have the USMNT's top squad playing better soccer than Callaghan. He's proven himself to be a true elite coach in Nashville.
If U.S. Soccer calls, it'll be very tough for Callaghan to pass up the opportunity.
Pellegrino Matarazzo
If the USSF can't get either of its top 2 candidates, Matarazzo would be a popular third option. The Real Sociedad manager was born in New Jersey and played his college soccer for Columbia. And though he doesn't have much history with U.S. Soccer, that didn't stop Pochettino was taking the job either.
Matarazzo is a proven manager in Europe who has Real Sociedad in contention for a Champions League spot in his second season in charge. He was also in the running for the USMNT job that ultimately went to Pochettino, so there has been interest on his part.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The 3 top USMNT coaching candidates to replace Mauricio Pochettino
