Could Pep Guardiola coach the USMNT? Analyzing Mauricio Pochettino, Pellegrino Matarazzo and the star-studded candidates for the 2030 World Cup cycle

We'll start with the incumbent because, at the moment, there's no indication whether he's staying or going. Logic says he likely goes but, hey, weirder things have happened, right?

If Pochettino does stay, it'll be interesting to see how he approaches this second cycle. The first was, by and large, about culture-building and about restoring a sense of pride and duty to the USMNT. You have to say he did that.

Under Pochettino, the USMNT played some fantastic soccer at the World Cup and, just as crucially, did get fans to believe before that backbreaking loss to Belgium. Did it all live up to expectations? Probably not, but at the very least, Pochettino did take this team to a better place than it was in before he arrived in this first cycle.

A second cycle, then, would begin with a foundation already in place. The question is how he would build on it and, more importantly, what his long-term vision would look like after spending his first two years sprinting toward a home World Cup.

There is also the reality of the commitment here. Should Pochettino sign on, it would be a four-year commitment towards 2030, one that would keep him away from the world's bigger clubs. And, if U.S. Soccer does extend Pochettino, it would be a four-year cycle where the team's head coach is linked with every major job in Europe every time one comes available. Are both sides willing to deal with that distraction?

If all comes together, both Pochettino and U.S. Soccer have shown they can be a pretty damn good team in the short term. A long-term commitment, though, is significantly trickier.

There is a section of social media that still waxes poetic about the time when this USMNT played their best soccer in recent years. The time they're referring to? The BJ Callaghan era.

After serving as Gregg Berhalter’s assistant, Callaghan was handed the reins on an interim basis in May 2023. Anthony Hudson, who had initially replaced Berhalter while U.S. Soccer investigated the former coach’s conduct, had departed for another job. In his first match, Callaghan guided the U.S. to a 3-0 win over Mexico in the CONCACAF Nations League semifinals. Three days later, the USMNT defeated Canada to lift the trophy. A shorthanded squad fell short in that summer’s Gold Cup, but Callaghan had nevertheless earned significant support from USMNT fans by the end of his brief tenure.

Afterwards, he got the coaching gig in Nashville and has done a fantastic job there, too, winning the U.S. Open Cup in 2025 while proving himself to be one of the better coaches in MLS. It's the reason why there are large segments of fans who see Callaghan as the best domestic option to take over as coach.

In terms of pedigree, yes, Callaghan would be a step back from Pochettino. But he does come with an established reputation and respect within the USMNT. So, while it may not be the most ambitious swing on paper, it is a nice middle ground that is more affordable to the federation and crowd-pleasing to a group of fans that will have fond memories of his initial tenure.

Brian Schmetzer has said in the past that he'd be open to the gig. There would be a segment of U.S. fans, however, that would see the hiring of an MLS coach with no international experience as a hire lacking ambition. They may be right, but there's also something to be said about the fact that Schmetzer isn't just an MLS coach.

With the Seattle Sounders, Schmetzer both maintained, built and rebuilt an empire. He was thrust into the spotlight as an interim coach, replacing the legendary Sigi Schmid, and he won the job by winning the MLS Cup in his first season. He won another MLS Cup in 2019 and made the final twice more, making it to four league finals in a five-year span. All the while, the Sounders have missed the playoffs just once and played at two Club World Cups.

Over the last decade, Schmetzer has overseen multiple eras of Sounders soccer. They have all been good. In terms of experience, there are few American coaches that can match him, which is why he would no doubt be worth considering.

Matarazzo is building the resume of a future USMNT manager. The question, then, is about the timeline.

The New Jersey-born coach built his coaching career in Germany, but he really shot to prominence this year after taking over at Real Sociedad. After taking over in December, he led the club to a Copa del Rey trophy that was capped off by a penalty shootout win over Atletico Madrid in the final. With that trophy win, Matarazzo became the first American to win a major trophy in a top-five league.

So the question is obvious: why would he leave? Matarazzo is clearly building something in Europe and, if he continues to build, the USMNT job will be waiting for him at some point down the line. If he's drawn in by the allure of the national team, that's totally understandable, but you also wouldn't blame him for wanting to really push himself in Europe to see how far he can take things.

If the USMNT want to recruit another big name, there are some out there. The arguably best coach of all time is currently unemployed, after all.

Pep Guardiola has his own experience in the U.S. During a previous sabbatical, he lived in New York, eager to enjoy the anonymity of American life. In that sense, he would know what he would be signing up for as Pochettino's potential successor: a job where you're both the head coach and the man in charge of growing the American game. Still, every team in the world would hire Guardiola right now if he wanted, so is there a legitimate reason he would want the USMNT job instead of one at a bigger club or national team that would surely pay him more money?

This would be a big swing, yes, but perhaps too big to connect with, unless U.S. Soccer gets some outside financial help as they did with Pochettino's hire.

USMNT legend Michael Bradley is on an upward trajectory, one that may someday lead to him taking charge of his national team. He's still so early in his journey, though, which is why calls for him to take charge are almost certainly premature.

Yes, Bradley is doing good work with the New York Red Bulls, particularly with young players, and, yes, there's no denying that, when it comes to the USMNT, he "gets it". It is just so, so early in his career to make that leap. He surely needs some seasoning.

So, because of that, Bradley is one to keep an eye on for the future, but not the 2030 sort of future.

Here's the reality of the situation at the moment: no one really knows where this thing is headed. Even if the USMNT and Pochettino do part ways, the aftermath could go in any number of directions, ones that can't fully be predicted at the moment.

The thing about the coaching carousel is that you never know who will be available and when and, with four years until a World Cup, there is time for U.S. Soccer to wait and get it right. Maybe don't wait too long, as they did in each of the previous two cycles, but there's no real reason to rush. If the federation identifies someone, they have time to go out and get them.

Because of that, it's hard to gauge how big the pool of candidates is. In 2024, it would have been hard to fathom that Pochettino would be both available and willing to coach the USMNT, and it's equally hard to predict things now. New candidates will come up and some may join the fray late but, if the USMNT does make their move, there are no shortage of ways their coaching search can go before it ends up on the right target.