NPR
U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino will stay through 2030 World Cup
+616 words added -185 words removed
Accessibility links Skip to main content Keyboard shortcuts for audio player Open Navigation Menu --> Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Close Navigation Menu Home News Expand/collapse submenu for News National World Politics Business Health Science Climate Race Culture Expand/collapse submenu for Culture Books Movies Television Pop Culture Food Art & Design Performing Arts Life Kit Gaming Music Expand/collapse submenu for Music Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions Podcasts & Shows Expand/collapse submenu for Podcasts & Shows Daily Morning Edition Weekend Edition Saturday Weekend Edition Sunday All Things Considered Up First Here & Now NPR Politics Podcast Featured Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! Fresh Air Wild Card with Rachel Martin It's Been a Minute Embedded Get NPR+ More Podcasts & Shows Search Newsletters NPR Shop Get NPR+ Tiny Desk New Music Friday All Songs Considered Music Features Live Sessions About NPR Diversity Support Careers Press Ethics U.S. Soccer extends Mauricio Pochettino's contract to 2030 Pochettino came on in 2024 to right the ship ahead of this year's World Cup, in which he led the team to a record three wins and helped ignite enthusiasm in millions of fans before a round of 16 exit. Sports U.S. Soccer and Mauricio Pochettino have agreed to a new contract that extends the men's national team coach's tenure through 2030. Martin Meissner/AP hide caption
Mauricio Pochettino, the coach of the U.S. men's national soccer team, has signed a new contract to stay on with the team through the 2030 FIFA World Cup, U.S. Soccer announced Monday.
Soccer Edition How coach Mauricio Pochettino made believers out of the U.S. World Cup team "Mauricio and his staff believe in the future of soccer in the United States and our new project allows us to build on progress of the USMNT and the momentum of U.S. Soccer," JT Batson, the CEO of U.S. Soccer, said in a statement.
Pochettino was hired in 2024 to right the ship after the men's team stumbled in a crucial tournament in the run-up to this summer's World Cup. No coach of the U.S. men's team had ever had a resume as stacked as Pochettino's, who has led some of Europe's most well-known clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
His original contract only bound him to the U.S. through this summer's World Cup, in which the men's team exited in the Round of 16 after a disappointing 4-1 loss to Belgium.
Before that loss, though, the team's performance had been a resounding success. Its three wins, over Paraguay, Australia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, were the most the U.S. men had ever won in a World Cup. Tens of thousands of fans packed into the stands to watch each game, and millions more Americans tuned in on TV — including a combined average of 50.1 million who watched the Round of 16 defeat between broadcasts on Fox and Telemundo, which made the loss the most-watched soccer broadcast in American history.
Soccer Edition 10 things that wowed us at the 2026 World Cup "Working together with U.S.
Sponsor Message
Become an NPR sponsor
− men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino will stay through 2030 World Cup August 3, 202610:05 AM ET Becky Sullivan
U.S.
+ men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino will stay through 2030 World Cup Updated August 3, 20264:45 PM ET Originally published August 3, 202610:05 AM ET Heard on All Things Considered Becky Sullivan
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," said Pochettino.
+ 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," said Pochettino in the statement.
− "The passion we experienced from the fans throughout the World Cup only strengthened our belief in what is possible here.
+ "The passion we experienced from the fans throughout the World Cup only strengthened our belief in what is possible here."
When Pochettino arrived in late 2024, there were less than two years remaining before this summer's World Cup.
− We are excited by the opportunity to bring all our experience and knowledge to even more areas of U.S.
+ That forced Pochettino into emergency mode, as he rapidly worked to evaluate as many players as possible before choosing his final squad.
− Soccer while helping strengthen the pathways for players, coaches and teams across the Federation."
Pochettino's new contract runs through the 2030 World Cup, which is set to take place mostly in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
+ In total, he invited more than 70 different players to camps, giving 62 the opportunity to play in a game — a process that unearthed a handful of new faces who became members of the World Cup squad.
By the time the World Cup arrived this summer, the U.S.
− Before then, the U.S.
+ players had fully bought in on Pochettino's approach.
− men's team will take part in multiple major international tournaments, including next year's CONCACAF Nations League and CONCACAF Gold Cup.
+ "Culture improves through winning, culture improves through competition," midfielder Tyler Adams told reporters in June. "Bringing in players that hadn't been in the fold and competing to make sure that no one's getting comfortable is something that we had to — not learn, but there's a respect level for every single person that comes in and around the group, and everyone feels included. And I think that's important."
U.S. players and team officials listen to Coach Mauricio Pochettino (top, center) after the team's 4-1 loss during the FIFA World Cup round of 16 match against Belgium in Seattle, Wash. on July 06, 2026. David Ramos/Getty Images hide caption
Now, Pochettino will have a full four-year cycle to prepare for the next World Cup in 2030, which is set to be co-hosted by Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Those four years represent an opportunity to "open a new chapter," Pochettino said in a video interview released Monday by U.S. Soccer. "The approach is going to be different and must be different," he added.
− Pochettino and his staff will also "advise and support U.S.
+ Part of that process will be to identify and develop a next generation of players.
− Soccer on the broader development of the full National Team pathway, youth soccer, coaching education, professional league collaboration and other technical facets across the soccer community," the organization said.
+ In its statement, U.S. Soccer nodded to an expanded role for Pochettino and his staff to "advise and support" the organization on "the broader development of the full National Team pathway" and other facets of the federation's technical work, including youth soccer, coaching education and collaboration with professional leagues like Major League Soccer.
+ Sports European soccer leaders to boycott the World Cup in an unprecedented step "We have the talent," Pochettino said, adding that he had started to see "new talented players, 16, 17, 18, 19 years old, young kids with the possibility of potential to be an important player in the next World Cup."
In July, federation head Batson told reporters that the disappointing loss to Belgium did not match the organization's ambitions to "truly compete" in the men's World Cup, where the U.S. has always been outclassed by traditional powerhouses in Europe and South America.
"[If] we want to be Argentina, we want to be Spain competing in a final, what are all the things that need to be true?" Batson said then. "Obviously, our senior team performance does 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."
Ahead of the 2030 World Cup and its qualifying process, the U.S. men's team will take part in multiple major international tournaments, including next year's CONCACAF Nations League and CONCACAF Gold Cup.