SOCCER
Why isn’t Mauricio Pochettino coaching USMNT against New Zealand?
The former Chelsea boss is expected to take over the United States but an unexpected delay means that Mikey Varas will lead the team on an interim basis.
The United States Men’s National Team look to bounce back from last weekend’s loss when they take on New Zealand on Tuesday evening.
On Saturday USMNT were comprehensively beaten by Canada, just the second time that they had lost to the northern neighbours on home soil. The US were led by interim head coach Mikey Varas for that game, a former assistant to Gregg Berhalter with a limited history of senior coaching roles.
USMNT fans had hoped that a new permanent head coach would be installed in time for the September fixtures, with Mauricio Pochettino heavily tipped to take the role. However US Soccer still needs to work out the financial situation with Pochettino’s former team, Chelsea, to whom he is still contracted.
When will Mauricio Pochettino become USMNT head coach?
After a chastening group stage loss at the summer’s Copa América, USMNT was in desperate need of a fresh start. It had been hoped that the new head coach would take charge of games against Canada and New Zealand but that was not possible.
Officials from US Soccer had been due to travel to Barcelona last week to finalise the agreement with Pochettino but the trip was cancelled at the last minute. It has been reported that Chelsea and US Soccer are yet to come to an agreement regarding Pochettino’s outstanding payments.
After sacking the Argentine at the end of the 2023/24 season, Chelsea are obliged to continue paying a proportion of the remainder of his contract. All parties will need to come to an agreement in which Chelsea and USMNT each effectively pay part of Pochettino’s salary going forward.
It’s proved to be a difficult deal to make, owing to the fact that national team jobs pay substantially less than head coaches can expect to earn at top Premier League clubs. Nevertheless, reports suggest that Pochettino will be in situ and able to lead the team for the next international break in October.
USMNT schedule for 2024
After Tuesday’s visit of New Zealand, there are just two more games for USMNT in 2024. There is another FIFA international break in mid-October and the United States have two games against CONCACAF opposition to close out the year.
First USMNT will take on Panama (October 12) at Q2 Stadium in Austin, Texas. They follow that up with a meeting with Mexico (October 15), heading to Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico.
Pochettino will be desperate to get some time with his new team as he looks to reshape a talented but underperforming group. Without World Cup qualifiers to test the team, Pochettino will need to take advantage of the Gold Cup and the CONCACAF Nations League in 2025, key opportunities for USMNT to test themselves in competitive fixtures.