Mauricio Pochettino appointed USMNT head coach to lead team through 2026 World Cup

Mauricio Pochettino has been appointed as the U.S. men’s national team head coach.

The 52-year-old replaces Gregg Berhalter, who was dismissed following the side’s Copa America group stage exit this summer. Pochettino’s appointment, reported by The Athletic in August, will see the former Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea head coach manage a national team for the first time.

Pochettino will lead the U.S. through the 2026 World Cup, which they will co-host alongside Canada and Mexico, with his first game as head coach expected in the USMNT’s friendly against Panama on October 12 in Austin.

“The decision to join U.S. Soccer wasn’t just about football for me; it’s about the journey that this team and this country are on,” Pochettino said. “The energy, the passion, and the hunger to achieve something truly historic here — those are the things that inspired me.”

The announcement follows the USMNT’s friendly defeat to Canada on Saturday in Kansas City. The team faces New Zealand in Cincinnati on Tuesday.

“Mauricio is a serial winner with a deep passion for player development and a proven ability to build cohesive and competitive teams,” said U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker. “His track record speaks for itself, and I am confident that he is the right choice to harness the immense potential within our talented squad.”

In May, Pochettino left his position as Chelsea head coach by mutual consent after less than 11 months in charge. He guided the club to a top-six finish in the Premier League, the Carabao Cup final and an FA Cup semi-final.

Pochettino began his managerial career at Espanyol in Spain, where he spent nine years as a player across two spells. He spent 16 months as head coach of Southampton in his first Premier League job, where he overlapped with Crocker. Crocker led Southampton’s academy at the time.

Pochettino left to take over at Tottenham, leading the club to the Champions League final in 2019, his last full season in charge. He was sacked by Spurs after a disappointing start to the 2019-20 campaign.

Following his time at Spurs, Pochettino took a break from management before succeeding Thomas Tuchel at Paris Saint-Germain in January 2021. The French club finished second in Ligue 1 at the end of the 2020-21 season but won the Coupe de France and the Trophee des Champions, while Pochettino guided PSG to the Ligue 1 title in 2021-22.

However, he was unable to secure success on the European stage with PSG, whom he left in June 2022. He then spent a year outside of football prior to his appointment at Chelsea in the summer of 2023.

Pochettino joins former Chelsea manager and current U.S. women’s national team coach Emma Hayes in America. Hayes won an Olympic gold medal with the U.S. at the Paris Games this summer.

“Hiring Mauricio is a step forward in our mission to compete at the highest level and make a lasting mark on the global soccer landscape,” said U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson. “This announcement is part of a historic era for U.S. Soccer, coming on the heels of our Arthur M. Blank National Training Center groundbreaking, launching the Soccer Forward Foundation, hiring Emma Hayes to lead our Women’s national team, and winning Olympic gold. We are building a program that not only wins on the global stage but inspires the next generation of American soccer players and fans, and we’re thrilled to have Mauricio play a key role in that journey.”

Former head coach Berhalter was rehired by the U.S. last summer after leading them to the knockout stage of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. A high-profile dispute with midfielder Gio Reyna in Qatar and subsequent revelations about his private life sparked an official investigation before he was cleared to return.

The U.S. won two CONCACAF Nations League finals and one Gold Cup under Berhalter, who finished with an 44-17-13 record in five years as coach.

‘A new level of hope’

The arrival of Pochettino could not have come soon enough. The U.S. is recovering from the massive disappointment of being eliminated in the group stage of the Copa America and followed that with a dismal performance in a 2-1 loss to Canada on Saturday.

It’s a team that looks very much like it needs a reset.

Pochettino immediately becomes the highest-profile manager in the history of the program, and an experienced voice that will be tasked with getting this team back on track and maximizing a talent pool that has been lauded for its potential, but has yet to live up to the hype.

Known as a top man-manager, Pochettino has to get the best out of a core that was still one of the youngest teams across both the Copa and European Championship this summer.

His arrival undoubtedly brings a new level of hope around the program as they prepare to co-host the World Cup in 2026.

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(Top photo: Henry Browne/Getty Images)