Mauricio Pochettino 'open' to continuing as USMNT coach after World Cup
· Yahoo Sports
LAGUNA NIGUEL, CA — Mauricio Pochettino is not ruling out staying as the U.S. men's national team coach beyond the World Cup.
Visit afrikasportnews.co.za for more information.
Pochettino said he has told U.S. Soccer he is "open" to a new contract, but any negotiations would have to come after the tournament. For now, his only concern is taking the USMNT as deep in the World Cup as he can.
"Now we're focused on the World Cup. Then, if we want to stay, we have months to talk, or days or weeks. Because it's four years until the next World Cup," Pochettino said Tuesday, June 23 in a roundtable with 11 reporters at the team's hotel.
The U.S. men have already clinched a spot in the knockout rounds, winning their group for the first time since 2010. They finish the group stage against Turkey on Thursday, June 25.
Their Round of 32 game, against a to-be-determined opponent, is July 1 in Santa Clara, California.
Pochettino has had a highly successful career as a club coach before becoming the USMNT's manager in September 2024. He led Tottenham to its first-ever Champions League final and won a French league title with Paris Saint-Germain.
While many have assumed Pochettino would want to return to Europe — he met with AC Milan about its vacancy in the spring — he said helping change soccer's place in the United States is appealing, too.
Seeing SoFi Stadium filled with fans of Mexico, not the USMNT, for the Nations League semifinals in March 2025 had him "crying" in the locker room, Pochettino said. Fast forward to June 12, when SoFi was a raucous sea of red, white and blue for the USMNT's World Cup opener against Paraguay.
"I didn't recognize it," Pochettino said, beaming. "That was a complete I think different vibe, different energy. The fans were so engaged with us. That was amazing."
That's as meaningful, maybe even more, than how the USMNT does in the World Cup.
"For me, that is the most important legacy, the connection between the national team and the fans," Pochettino said. "Of course, we want to win. But that is the legacy that we need. ... Why not to be part of it?"
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mauricio Pochettino could return as USMNT for next World Cup cycle