After weeks of speculation and rumors, clarity on Mauricio Pochettino’s hiring as the next manager of the United States men’s national team appears on the way.
The US Soccer Federation’s board of directors are reportedly set to meet to confirm the hiring of Pochettino has the Stars and Stripes next boss, per Fox Soccer.
Pochettino has not taken another job at the club level since exiting Chelsea after leading the Blues to a sixth-place finish in the Premier League last season.
Finishing in sixth may seem like US Soccer’s leadership did not swing big for its next hire, but Pochettino brought the team up from a 12th-place finish the season before.
Should Pochettino be hired to run the USMNT, it would mean both Chelsea’s men’s and women’s first-team managers from last season would now be at the helm of the senior US national teams with Emma Hayes’ hiring.
The US Soccer Federation’s leadership are reportedly meeting to approve Pochettino’s hiring
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Pochettino has never coached at the international level, with him having tons of big-time club experience at Chelsea, Tottenham, and Paris Saint-Germain.
The hiring of the next USMNT manager is seen as a can’t-miss move as the United States are one of the hosts of the 2026 World Cup and will host every game from the quarterfinals on.
Averaging over 30 years between hosting World Cups, with the only other time being 1994, the United States making a run at the next global tournament is a chance that will not come around in any player’s lifetime on the squad.
The USMNT lost its most recent game on home soil to Canada on Saturday, with most of the team’s most talented players on the pitch.
That result would have been seen as devastating to the program at one time, but now, it is just an accepted loss.
Pochettino’s job is to rally the troops and institute a juggernaut in less than two years, which appears more of a herculean task by the game.