Sources: Pochettino agrees to become United States coach

Posted Friday, August 16, 2024 by ESPN

Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the new United States men's national team coach with the responsibility of leading the team into the 2026 World Cup, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

Pochettino, 52, has been out of work since leaving Chelsea by mutual consent earlier this summer after just one season in charge at Stamford Bridge.

A source told ESPN that the former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain coach agreed to succeed Gregg Berhalter as USMNT head coach following lengthy discussions with Matt Crocker, the USSF technical director.

No final agreement has been signed between the two parties, the sources added, and the USSF board of directors is yet to sign off on any deal. A regular board meeting is scheduled for Aug. 23, though a special meeting could be called before then to finalize the appointment, a source added. No special meeting has yet been scheduled.

Crocker, who previously worked with Premier League team Southampton and the English Football Association, had been charged with recruiting a world-class coach to ensure the USMNT goes into the 2026 World Cup -- the U.S. are joint hosts with Canada and Mexico -- as a competitive nation, capable of running into the latter stages of the competition.

Efforts to recruit Jürgen Klopp following his summer exit from Liverpool failed to get off the ground, but Pochettino agreeing to take on the role is a major coup for the USSF.

A separate source told ESPN that Pochettino's situation with Chelsea remains unresolved. He is owed money by the Premier League club and until a resolution is found he cannot sign a contract to take over the USMNT.

Pochettino is expected to be installed in time to take charge of the USMNT game against Canada in Kansas City, Kansas, on Sept. 7.

Pochettino would be able to keep a European base and not move to the U.S. full time, a source told ESPN, as he could watch bulk of the national team players in major European leagues.

Sources told ESPN that Pochettino had been under consideration as a possible candidate to replace Gareth Southgate as England manager.