Paris (France) (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino has signed a contract extension to remain the head coach of the United States national team until the 2030 World Cup, US Soccer announced Monday. The 54-year-old took over in 2024 and led the USA to the last 16 at the recent World Cup, which they co-hosted with Canada and Mexico.
“It has become clear to us that there is tremendous potential to make the men’s national team program even stronger,” said Argentinian Pochettino, whose coaching staff have also agreed to new contracts. “The passion we experienced from the fans throughout the World Cup only strengthened our belief in what is possible here… 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.”
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The Americans won three matches at a World Cup for the first time before being knocked out by Belgium, following a huge controversy over FIFA’s decision to suspend striker Folarin Balogun’s ban for a red card. Former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Pochettino was named coach two years ago, after previous boss Gregg Berhalter left following a group-stage exit from the 2024 Copa America, which the USA hosted.
Pochettino helped turn things around and led the team to the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup final, which they lost 2-1 to Mexico. He had been linked with a return to European club football, but will instead stay with the US until the next World Cup, slated to be largely held in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
” Mauricio has built a culture where players trust the group, trust the process, and trust each other,” said US Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone. “We saw the impact of that belief in the way the team grew, competed, and performed on the world’s biggest stage.”
The USA have not reached the quarter-finals of a men’s World Cup since 2002, and hopes were high a partisan home crowd could carry them to at least that stage. But after the Balogun affair, a fired-up Belgium quashed those hopes last month with a crushing 4-1 victory.
© 2024 AFP
