Mauricio Pochettino is staying with the U.S. soccer team, agreeing Monday to a four-year contract to coach the Americans through the 2030 World Cup.
A 54-year-old who took over in October 2024, Pochettino led the U.S. to the World Cup round of 16, where the tournament co-hosts were eliminated with a 4-1 loss to Belgium.
Still, he helped the seeded U.S. to a pair of firsts in the expanded 48-nation tournament, clinching advancement from the group stage
with a game to spare and winning three games in a single World Cup. The team captivated American fans with excited audiences in stadiums and record television viewers.
“The magic thing that happened during the World Cup, the connection with the people, of course with the whole organization and everything was a key point,” Pochettino said during a Zoom news conference from his home in Barcelona, Spain.
Hedge fund manager Ken Griffin is again the lead philanthropic funder supporting Pochettino’s contract. Pochettino earned just over $5 million in his first seven months as coach, according to the U.S. Soccer Federation tax return.
Since reaching the quarterfinals in 2002, the U.S. has lost four straight round-of-16 games.
“What we learn(ed) is that we can compete, that we have the quality and we have the talent,” Pochettino said. “We were so close. That gap with the best teams in the world is not too big.”
Pochettino said there is potential to make soccer in the U.S. “grow and grow and grow and be one of the important sport(s) in America, like it is in the rest of the world.”
“We have players and organization that can compete with the best organization in the world in that sport,” he said. “We learned that the fans are amazing and when they were so excited to discover a sport that made our fans become crazy, no? The connection was amazing.”
Pochettino views the next cycle as a new start for a program lacking quality depth at goalkeeper and central defender.
“It is going to be important to provide the young kids that we really believe that they have the potential to arrive in 2030, in four years, to start to work and start to know,” he said.
Before taking the U.S. job, Pochettino coached Espanyol (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19), Paris Saint-Germain (2021-22) and Chelsea (2023-24).
When Pochettino replaced Gregg Berhalter two years ago, he signed an initial contract through the 2026 World Cup. Pochettino said ahead of the tournament that he had discussed a possible new deal with the USSF. He also said in May that his agent had spoken with AC Milan, a club that then hired Rúben Amorim.
Pochettino, who has homes in Spain and London, said he may move to the U.S. He intends to stay with the American team until 2030 but left himself an out.
“Four years time is a really long period. You never know what can happen in soccer,” he said. “Today people really love you. In eight weeks time, maybe that change(s), that feeling."
He has led the U.S. to 17 wins (including a penalty-kicks victory), 13 losses and one draw. Twenty-three of 62 players to appear under Pochettino have accounted for the team’s 57 goals.
“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,” USSF CEO JT Batson said in a statement.
U.S. coaches have not been successful when they remained for a second World Cup cycle.
After leading the Americans to the 2002 quarterfinals, Bruce Arena was unable to get his team past the group stage in 2006.
Bob Bradley helped the U.S. reach the round of 16 in 2010, then was fired a year later after the team lost the CONCACAF Gold Cup final.
Jurgen Klinsmann took over and in December 2013 was given an extension through the 2018 World Cup. The Americans reached the round of 16 in 2014 but Klinsmann was fired in late 2016 after the U.S. lost its first two games in the final round of qualifying. Arena returned but the U.S. failed to reach the 2018 World Cup.
Berhalter was hired in late 2018 and led the Americans to the round of 16 in 2022. Given a new contract in 2023, he was fired a year later after the U.S. failed to advanced past the group stage of the Copa America.
“We are going to demand more from them," he said of the players. “We are not going to be in some situation(s) not flexible like we were because before it was (for) the benefit of players, benefit of structures that were already built. But now it’s about to start the house from zero.”
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
