Mauricio Pochettino agrees to new contract extension to keep him with USMNT until World Cup 2030

After weeks of back and forth, with doubts over will he or won’t he, Mauricio Pochettino finally decided his future on Monday morning. The former Tottenham boss has pledged his allegiance to the USMNT for the next four years.

Poch staying put

The announcement comes after a World Cup run that sparked an unseen and unfelt belief in a nation that for the first time ever thought it could hang with some of the world soccer superpowers in the biggest tournament on the planet. The run to the round of 16 was more than enough in the eyes of U.S. Soccer, the only question was, would Poch want to stick on for another four years?

Pochettino released a statement following the news breaking to start the first week of August, and he is looking towards the future with big expectations for a program he sees with plenty of potential. “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.”

Even before the tournament started, there was speculation that perhaps the World Cup would be his last contribution to U.S. Soccer. There were reports linking him to AC Milan among other clubs around Europe. Poch would neither confirm or deny those reports but did says that he and U.S. Soccer would continue talks after a period of rest following the World Cup exit last month.

Take Me Home for four more years

In the end the two parties agreed that continuing the relationship would be the best for Poch and for the national team. Pochettino entrenched himself in the soccer culture, the fans, and the passion throughout the tournament. Whether he was singing “Take Me Home, Country Roads” or having his name chanted by entire stadiums, or comparing the US fans to those of his home country, Argentina, Poch bought in and the country loved him for it.

After a run that was cut short by Belgium in the round of 16, Pochettino is already thinking about what is to come in the next four years. “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,” said Poch.

While the World Cup will be the end goal in 2030, there will be plenty of big games coming up in the next few years. The USMNT has the National League and Gold Cup in 2027 and 2029, as well as a Copa America in 2028, which they will host on their home soil.

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