When the United States men's national team extended head coach Mauricio Pochettino for a second World Cup cycle, few expected the former Spurs/Chelsea/PSG coach to actually make it to 2030 with the USMNT. He might not even make it to December of 2026.
According to The Athletic, Pochettino has reached a verbal agreementwith Premier League giants Manchester United to take over as manager should the Red Devils fire current manager Michael Carrick. Through 10 matches, United sit in the relegation zone, and the club is expected to part ways with Carrick during this international break.
But for all the speculation, U.S. Soccer's changes to its media availability were unrelated to the coaching rumors. The USSF canceled its Wednesday press conference
not because Pochettino's departure is imminent, but it did so in observance of Veterans Day.
Worth noting, US Soccer's cancelled media availability with players today, officially due to Veteran's Day in the United States. Pochettino was not scheduled to speak. Open training will still take place.
— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) November 11, 2026
It means no player reaction today. There is currently still set to be…
Pochettino was not scheduled to meet with reporters on Wednesday anyway, but we'll have to see if his Friday press conference goes forward as scheduled. The USMNT are set to face Haiti on Saturday and Tuesday in the CONCACAF Nations League.
Despite the rumors, players like Jedi Robinson thought the Manchester United interest was a reflection of simply having a world-class manager. He dismissed the notion of it being a distraction in his Tuesday press conference.
Manchester United would have to pay a $10 million exit fee to trigger Pochettino's release from his current USMNT contract.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why U.S. Soccer actually canceled its press conference amid Mauricio Pochettino rumors
