Mauricio Pochettino and the US Soccer Federation are working toward a deal for him to become the men’s national team coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told reporters on Thursday.
Pochettino, the former Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach, has agreed to take over as the US coach, but the deal is not complete, the person said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not finalized.
Pochettino would succeed Gregg Berhalter less than 22 months before the US hosts the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Photo: AFP
The US federation declined to comment.
Pochettino would become the first foreign-born coach to head the US since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011 to 2016. The Argentine has coached RCD Espanyol in Spain (2009-2012); Southampton (2013-2014), Tottenham (2014-2019) and Chelsea (2023-2024) in England; and Paris Saint-Germain (2021-2022) in France, leaving after winning a Ligue 1 title.
Matt Crocker, the US federation’s sporting director in charge of the search, was Southampton’s academy director when Pochettino started at that club.
The US have four friendlies upcoming, against Canada on Sept. 7, New Zealand three days later, Panama on Oct. 12 and on Oct. 15 against an opponent yet to be determined.
The next competitive matches are a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final in November.
Mikey Varas, a Berhalter assistant, could be in charge of the team for the September games and Pochettino could take over for the October matches.
Berhalter was fired on July 10, a week after the US were eliminated in the first round of the Copa America.
He was hired in December 2018, was allowed to leave when his contract expired following a 3-1 loss to the Netherlands in the second round of the 2022 World Cup.
He was rehired in June last year to return in September.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
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