‘Next week we will make a decision’ – Mauricio Pochettino says he will decide his USMNT future soon

Before the start of the World Cup, both Pochettino and U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson said the two sides had discussed a potential future that would keep the coach with the team beyond the 2026 World Cup. The two discussed an extension over dinner in New York ahead of the tournament before agreeing to shelve talks until after the World Cup run.

That run ended against Belgium in the Round of 16 and, after that match, Pochettino said it was not yet time to decide on his future. Instead, he would need a period of "rest and reflection" before thinking about what comes next.

This week, he was asked about his future by Spanish radio station Cadena Cope, and Pochettino said a decision will be made next week.

"We are evaluating it, looking at it," he told Cadena Cope. "[U.S. Soccer] has made me an offer to continue, and we will see. Next week we will make a decision."

On Thursday in Atlanta, Batson met with reporters for the first time since the USMNT's World Cup exit. As part of that discussion, he was asked about Pochettino's future.

"As we shared, we were going to take a break after the World Cup and rest and recuperate," he said. "I didn't get to do too much resting or recuperating, but we're excited about the discussions. They've been active about long-term planning. As a recent example, we're active in our discussions with Steve [Cherundolo] around the U-23 role, and we're a key part of that process. We're feeling good about where we are overall, and we're looking forward to the discussions."

Batson also reflected on what comes next for American soccer following this summer's tournament.

"There are lots of things that need to be true for us to continue to win World Cups on the women's side, and for us to truly compete for them on the men's side," he said. "Our focus is on putting ourselves in the best position to be able to do that. Obviously, our senior team performances matter, as do the state of our youth national teams, as do the state of our pathways more broadly, as do the state of our talent identification and development, as do the state of our coaching.

"I think one of our hopes is that we do a better job of educating our fans and educating our stakeholders on all of the things that matter. We want to be Argentina, we want to be Spain, competing in a final."

With their World Cup now over, the USMNT's next matches will be during the September international window, which runs from Sept. 21 to Oct. 6.