‘Tremendous potential to make the Men’s National Team program even stronger’ - Mauricio Pochettino signs new USMNT deal through 2030 World Cup

U.S. Soccer confirmed Pochettino's return on Monday as the Argentinian coach has officially put pen to paper on a new deal. Pochettino's return has been in the works for some time, though, with initial discussions happening even before the USMNT's World Cup run. Following the team's exit to Belgium, Pochettino said both sides would revisit talks after a period of rest, and that period of rest has resulted in a continuation of the partnership between coach and federation.

As part of Pochettino's return, he and his staff will have an increased focus on the bigger picture of American soccer, including the national team pathway, youth soccer, coaching and other technical aspects of the sport in the country.

From a senior national team perspective, Pochettino will have plenty of big matches on the road to 2030. The U.S. will compete in the Nations League and Gold Cup in 2027 and 2029, while reports say that the U.S. will host the Copa America once again in 2028.

Similar to when he was initially hired, U.S. Soccer has been able to make the hire due to contributions from Kenneth C. Griffin, Founder and CEO of Citadel and Founder of Griffin Catalyst, while additional contributions have been made by Scott Goodwin, Adam Freede, and several other partners. 

"Working together with U.S. Soccer over the past two years, it has become clear to us that there is tremendous potential to make the Men’s National Team program even stronger,” Pochettino said in a statement. “The passion we experienced from the fans throughout the World Cup only strengthened our belief in what is possible here.

"We are excited by the opportunity to bring all our experience and knowledge to even more areas of U.S. Soccer while helping strengthen the pathways for players, coaches and teams across the Federation. We want to try to have a lasting impact on the sport in the country that has welcomed us so warmly and for that impact to extend beyond results on the field.” 

After stints with several of the world's top clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham, Pochettino was originally hired by U.S. Soccer in the fall of 2024, giving him an 18-month runway to prepare for the World Cup.

After spending much of those 18 months evaluating talent and rebuilding USMNT culture, Pochettino led the U.S. to the top of their World Cup group, winning with a game to spare after starting the tournament with wins over Paraguay and Australia. The U.S. then defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina in their Round of 32 match before falling to Belgium in the Round of 16.

Up next for the USMNT will be the fall international break, which will include four matches at the end of September and into the beginning of October.