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On the same day that U.S. Soccer director JT Batson told me and a handful of other national reporters that the confederation remains in “active discussions” to bring back Mauricio Pochettino as the U.S. men’s national team coach, Pochettino said Thursday that his decision on whether to stay on as coach of the Americans or move on is just days away.
Speaking to a Spanish radio station on Thursday, the 54-year-old manager – who was offered a contract extension through the 2030 World Cup despite USA’s shock 4-1 loss to Belgium in the last 16 of the ongoing 2026 World Cup – confirmed he is still not sure he will return. His current contract expires after Sunday’s World Cup final between Spain and Pochettino’s native Argentina.
“They gave me an offer to continue and we’ll see,” said Pochettino, who is by far the highest-paid coach in American soccer history with a salary north of $6 million. “We are evaluating it. Next week we will [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 had a difficult first 18 months in charge, losing to Germany, Canada, Panama, Switzerland, South Korea, Türkiye, 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 badly coached by Belgium’s Rudi Garcia in the USA’s most important match, the only one the Americans played against a FIFA top-10 opponent. The 4-1 defeat was the most lopsided loss for the United States in a World Cup knockout game since a 7-1 loss to Italy in 1934. That defeat against Belgium was watched live by more than 50 million Americans, the most ever to watch a soccer game in American history.
