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On the same day that US Soccer CEO JT Batson told me and a handful of other national reporters that the federation remained in “active discussions” to bring back Mauricio Pochettino as coach of the United States men’s national team, Pochettino said Thursday that his decision on whether he would remain as coach of the Americans or move on was just days away.
Speaking to a Spanish radio station on Thursday, the 54-year-old coach – who was offered a contract extension until the 2030 World Cup, despite the United States’ 4-1 defeat to Belgium in the round of 16 of the ongoing 2026 World Cup – confirmed he was still not sure if he wanted to return. His current contract expires after Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Pochettino’s native Argentina.
“They offered me to continue, and we’ll see,” said Pochettino, who is by far the highest-paid coach in American soccer history with a salary of more than $6 million. “We are evaluating it. Next week we [make] a decision.”
(Photo by Doug Zimmerman/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Hired to replace Gregg Berhalter in 2024, the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager has had a difficult first 18 months, losing to Germany, Canada, Panama, Switzerland, South Korea, Turkey, Portugal and twice to Mexico.
But he helped the World Cup co-hosts win their World Cup group by beating Paraguay and Australia before a round of 16 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However, he was poorly coached by Belgian Rudi Garcia in the United States’ most important match, the only one the Americans played against a FIFA top 10 opponent. The 4-1 loss was the United States’ most lopsided defeat in a World Cup knockout match since a 7-1 loss to Italy in 1934. That failure against Belgium was seen live by more than 50 million Americans, the largest audience for a soccer match in U.S. history.
