Mauricio Pochettino and the US Soccer Federation are working toward a deal for him to become the men’s national team coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told reporters on Thursday.
Pochettino, the former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach, has agreed to take over as the US coach, but the deal is not complete, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not finalized.
Pochettino would succeed Gregg Berhalter less than 22 months before the US hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Photo: AFP
The US federation declined to comment.
Pochettino would become the first foreign-born coach to head the US since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011 to 2016. The Argentine has coached RCD Espanyol in Spain (2009-2012); Southampton (2013-2014), Tottenham (2014-2019) and Chelsea (2023-2024) in England; and Paris Saint-Germain (2021-2022) in France, leaving after winning a Ligue 1 title.
Matt Crocker, the US federation’s sporting director in charge of the search, was Southampton’s academy director when Pochettino started at that club.
The US have four friendlies upcoming, against Canada on Sept. 7, New Zealand three days later, Panama on Oct. 12 and on Oct. 15 against an opponent yet to be determined.
The next competitive matches are a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final in November.
Mikey Varas, a Berhalter assistant, could be in charge of the team for the September games and Pochettino could take over for the October matches.
Berhalter was fired on July 10, a week after the US were eliminated in the first round of the Copa America.
He was hired in December 2018, was allowed to leave when his contract expired following a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the second round of the 2022 World Cup.
He was rehired in June last year to return in September.
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