Who replaces Mauricio Pochettino at the USMNT after the World Cup? Making the case for Jurgen Klopp, Michael Bradley, and more

USMNT fans still reflect fondly on the days of B.J. Callaghan. It was a weird time, all said. The seven games he was in charge felt like a transitional period. Gregg Berhalter had gone - albeit briefly. The USMNT were one foot in, one foot out when it came to looking for a manager.

Callaghan, an assistant on Berhalter's staff, was a tidy replacement who was never fully likely to get the full-time job. But he went undefeated, won four games, and claimed the 2023 CONCACAF Nations League in pretty tidy fashion - becoming the first USMNT manager since 1934 to beat Mexico in their debut fixture.

While he didn't get the national team job at the time, club management called. Callaghan has since impressed immensely with Nashville SC. They won the Open Cup in 2025, and are among the best teams in the East this year. If the USMNT's goal is to build the program, and do so with someone who knows the inner workings of things, then Callaghan is the man.

It is widely known that Jurgen Klopp was the first call Matt Crocker made when trying to appoint a new manager in 2024. Klopp said no, citing the fact that he needed a break - and might never coach again - after leaving Liverpool at the end of the 2023-24 campaign. He has since taken a prominent role in the Red Bull organization, as its Head of Global Soccer, where he seems to be pretty happy.

The question of management will always linger around the German, though. It seems highly unlikely that he will ever take another job in England or Germany. Spain would certainly be a surprise, too. And, with all due respect to elsewhere, that only leaves national team management. He would seem to be a shoo-in for Germany, yet Julian Nagelsmann is doing a fine job at the helm. And after Thomas Tuchel penned a long-term contract to stay with England, the U.S. job might be the most enticing international job left after the World Cup.

Of all of the names here, Bradley certainly makes a lot of sense. It is pretty much a given that he will be USMNT coach someday. He played for the team at a high level and captained the side 48 times. And if that wasn't enough, his Dad, a highly skilled coach in his own right, managed the U.S. for five years.

Yet this is perhaps a cycle too early for the current New York Red Bulls manager. There is a sense, too, that Bradley is still cutting his teeth. The Red Bulls play some truly lovely stuff. They are young, expressive, and attacking - almost to a fault. This is clearly a manager shaping himself in the Red Bulls' image. But he's also beta-testing a bit. He has only been in full-time professional management for three months at a high level. There is so much more to do, so many more systems to master. Bradley for the USMNT in 2030? Perhaps. For now, he seems far more likely to manage a club in Europe, maybe Leipzig, than the U.S.

Something is worth acknowledging here. With all of the respect due to the former Philadelphia Union boss, Jim Curtin would not be a sexy choice. But he would be remarkably solid.

He was the main man in Philly for a decade and expertly oversaw a roster that never really stayed the same. He developed top talents, and as Philly wheeled and dealed, Curtin made sure that the team always competed. He won the Supporters' Shield in 2022 and reached five finals. His credentials as a winner overall can - and should - be questioned. But Curtin is a guy who knows how to put a team together, and he can also certainly be backed to get the best out of bright talents. That has to count for something.

Matarazzo might just be the next great American manager.

His story is genuinely uplifting. Born in New Jersey to Italian parents, Matarazzo could never fully make the grade in Italy. He failed at least two trials, and rather bounced around lower league German and Italian soccer before ending up as an academy coach. That was a far better fit. Matarazzo learned from now-German national team boss Julian Nagelsmann at Hoffenheim, and, eight years on, is one of Europe's more highly-regarded coaches.

He has done a truly remarkable job with Real Sociedad, taking them from relegation danger in December to Copa del Rey winners in April. They are on the verge of qualifying for European football, too - something that seemed improbable six months ago. Twenty years after failing to cut it around Europe as a player, he is the only American coach to win a major trophy in Europe's top five leagues.

Yet, his path seems more geared towards club football than the USMNT. The Spanish press has already linked him with bigger club jobs. Perhaps Champions League football would be a more natural step up. But he certainly isn't one to be ruled out, and he refuses to distance himself from the opportunity as well.

Guardiola is regarded as the solution to pretty much all footballing problems. Have an issue? Just throw the greatest coach of the modern era in there, and he will figure it out. The Catalan's club management credentials simply cannot be questioned. His penchant not only for winning but also for reinvesting his methods, over and over, are the stuff of legend. He makes this thing look remarkably easy.

But there is one caveat, at least from a USMNT perspective. Guardiola needs to be in it every day. He needs time on the grass, hours of team talks and tactics. Guardiola's genius is in the details, and national team soccer doesn't always allow that kind of stuff. So, sure, he won't coach Spain - largely due to his Catalonian roots. Any other top European nation seems to be off the table, too. If he had to take a national team job, Argentina or the U.S. would probably be the top two spots. Whether he would sparkle in a more laissez-faire position, though, remains to be seen.

How funny would this be? It's no secret, at this point, that Marsch thought he would be USMNT manager. He was, in fact, considered a top candidate before the U.S. re-hired Berhalter in 2023. Marsch claims that he had to turn down the Leicester job at the last second due to USMNT interest - only to find out that the U.S. position was no longer available.

Since then, he has basically gone about a smear campaign against the USMNT, U.S. Soccer and the United States at large. Marsch may be a proud Wisconsinite, but his relationship with the States seems to have soured. But what remains intact is his credentials as a coach. He is arguably the most gifted manager the States has produced, and certainly has the level of charisma necessary to be a leading man for a big nation. In any other universe, he would walk into this job. But he might have burned too many bridges.