USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino is “not ruling out staying” as coach of the team beyond the World Cup, according to Nancy Armour of USA TODAY. Pochettino said that 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.” While many have assumed Pochettino would “want to return to Europe -- he met with AC Milan about its vacancy in the spring” -- he said that helping “change soccer’s place in the United States is appealing, too.” He added that 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.” 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.” Pochettino said, “I didn’t recognize it. That was a complete I think different vibe, different energy. The fans were so engaged with us. That was amazing.” Armour notes that is as “meaningful, maybe even more, than how the USMNT does in the World Cup.” Pochettino added, “For me, that is the most important legacy, the connection between the national team and the fans. Of course, we want to win. But that is the legacy that we need” (USA TODAY, 6/24).
CHANGE OF HEART: Pochettino mentioned that he and his staff “were ‘naïve’ when he first signed his contract” with U.S. Soccer in 2024, and that the complacency around the program “felt like a ‘big punch.’” Pochettino explained that after the initial shock “wore off, he and his staff embarked on what he calls ‘a process,’ where they went about analyzing the squad, finding new players” and “rekindling a passion for the USMNT” (ESPN.com, 6/24). THE ATHLETIC’s Paul Tenorio notes Pochettino “praised the crowds that have come to support the team this summer,” from Charlotte to Chicago, L.A. and Seattle. He recalled attending an Ohio State-Texas college football game in the fall of 2025 and “wondering why the U.S. team couldn’t draw crowds like that.” To see the World Cup crowds live has “been both eye-opening and exciting for Pochettino” (THE ATHLETIC, 6/24).
NEXT GOALS: YAHOO SPORTS’ Steven Goff wrote the mission for the USMNT entering the World Cup was to “win matches and, if all things fell into place, win Group D and win a few knockout games.” The first two goals have been met. The team also “carried another prime assignment into the summer soccer festival: Win over the public.” Now heading to the knockout stage, Pochettino’s “ambitious team is presented with an opportunity to not only make a deep run but to attract a new set of fans” (YAHOO SPORTS, 6/23).
