Mauricio Pochettino has officially been tasked with dragging the United States men’s national team out of its current malaise and onto unprecedented greatness with the 2026 World Cup looming on home soil.
Argentine coach Pochettino, 52, becomes just the fifth full-time USMNT manager this century after Bruce Arena, Bob Bradley, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Gregg Berhalter.
Arena and Berhalter both served two terms at the helm, and that’s one of the reasons the Pochettino hire is so intriguing — U.S. Soccer is going outside its comfort zone for just the second time in nearly 30 years.
[ JPW: Pochettino the perfect fit for a crucial time? ]
The home soil World Cup — the Yanks are hosting with Canada and Mexico and won’t play outside the U.S. border except for one very unlikely knockout round scenario scenario — is an incredible chance for Pochettino burnish his stock with a talented and automatically-qualified U.S. squad. One
Pochettino worked with U.S. Soccer technical director Matt Crocker when the pair were at Southampton in 2013, and he’s known for nurturing young talent.
Mauricio Pochettino on becoming new USMNT head coach
U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker
Mauricio Pochettino’s history: Player, manager CV
This is Pochettino’s first national team job after five stops in European club soccer. Pochettino has managed two of clubs from his playing days — Paris Saint-Germain and Espanyol — as well as Premier League sides Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur, and Chelsea.
Capped 20 times in his player career with Argentina, Maradona played for Newell’s Old Boys, Espanyol, PSG, and Bordeaus during a 17-year professional career, winning two Copas del Rey and the UEFA Intertoto Cup.
As a manager, he took Spurs to the Champions League final and both Spurs and Chelsea to League Cup runner-up finishes. He won Ligue 1 as PSG boss as well as Coupe de France and Trophee des Champions wins.
What to expect from a Mauricio Pochettino team
Pochettino played a 4-2-3-1 at Chelsea the majority of his time at Stamford Bridge, and went to that well more than expected at PSG despite the side’s preference for a 4-3-3 with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, and Lionel Messi in the same side.
Once Spurs were settled as a power under his watch, the 4-2-3-1 was also a trusted formation. And lest you think that was down to having Mbappe, Kane, and Nicolas Jackson, Pochettino also loved a 4-2-3-1 when Rickie Lambert was his best center forward with Saints.
Pochettino has some of the ingredients to plug and play here. The Yanks are deep in attack and Christian Pulisic can help drive play from out wide while there are a lot of midfield components and Antonee Robinson can be his Danny Rose/Kieran Trippier fullback star.
With apologies to Folarin Balogun, a decent player and better prospect, Pochettino’s not going to find a Kane or even a Jackson in this bunch just yet. He’s also caught between generations at center back, where Tim Ream has struggled in consecutive caps and Chris Richards is just growing into his prime. And there’s neither a Hugo Lloris nor Gianluigi Donnarumma to be found, as the Yanks’ long and impressive run of churning out world-class keepers has hit a lull.