Skip to content Only three months after signing a four-year contract extension, the Mauricio Pochettino USMNT era is ending with an immediate jump into the Premier League relegation zone. The Argentine will officially take charge of Manchester United once the current international window closes, walking away from U.S. Soccer after just over two years in the job.
The move leaves the American program stunned and searching for answers ahead of the 2030 cycle. Pochettino led Wednesday’s training session in the Atlanta suburbs, yet his bags are already packed for Old Trafford.
Also read: Mauricio Pochettino Manchester United Move Edges Closer After Long Pursuit
United sit near the bottom of English football with just one win in 10 games, the worst record in the division. For American supporters, watching their highest-paid manager walk away for a rescue mission in Manchester brings both whiplash and familiar frustration.
What Robinson said about the Mauricio Pochettino USMNT exit
The news broke while the squad gathered at U.S. Soccer’s national training center. Fullback Antonee Robinson admitted the timing caught the locker room off guard on Tuesday.
“That news kind of got sprung on us, like the rest of the world, I’d say.”
Robinson noted that European rumors trailed Pochettino throughout his tenure. Even so, the defender insisted the squad learned to block out outside noise during major tournaments.
“Similar things happened in the past, happened at the World Cup where huge teams lose their manager and they start looking at possible candidates,” Robinson explained. “For us to have a manager who’s linked with those sorts of jobs means we’re very lucky to work with a top-level manager, but it never seems to leak into the work we do.”
Why Manchester United came calling now
Pochettino never hid his desire to return to England’s top flight. Before taking the American job in September 2024, he spent his entire managerial career in Europe with Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Clubs monitored his availability constantly while he worked in the United States. AC Milan made an approach before the World Cup, but the Italian side hired former United boss Ruben Amorim instead. When United stumbled into the drop zone this autumn, the Old Trafford board moved quickly for the Argentine.
U.S. Soccer CEO J.T. Batson acknowledged earlier this year that suitors knocked on the door repeatedly. Batson maintained that Pochettino remained open about outside interest from day one, but nobody expected an exit so soon after his August extension.
Tactical shifts and the Mauricio Pochettino USMNT legacy
On paper, Pochettino leaves behind a mixed record on the field. He won 21 of 45 matches, with nearly all those victories coming against opponents sitting below the Americans in the FIFA rankings.
The team suffered another round of 16 World Cup exit on home soil, falling to Belgium after a tournament disrupted by the Folarin Balogun affair. That result marked the program’s fourth straight elimination at the exact same stage.
Yet his actual impact ran much deeper than raw tournament results. Pochettino scrapped Gregg Berhalter’s cautious tactics and installed an aggressive, attack-minded identity that energized the fanbase.
He restored Malik Tillman to a starring role in midfield and gave Ricardo Pepi regular minutes leading the line. Meanwhile, Christian Pulisic and Balogun thrived with extra freedom in the final third.
Pochettino also expanded the talent pool by taking bold chances on emerging domestic players. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman went from obscurity to World Cup goalscorer in less than 500 days. Midfielder Sebastian Berhalter earned his first cap in 2025 and quickly became a lineup regular.
Where U.S. Soccer turns next
U.S. Soccer now faces an unexpected coaching search with four years to prepare for the 2030 tournament. The federation invested historic money in Pochettino, but his departure proves that global fame does not guarantee long-term stability.
Still, the incoming manager will inherit a far healthier squad than the broken group Pochettino took over after the 2024 Copa America. Young talents like Cavan Sullivan and Adri Mehmeti are already knocking on the senior team’s door.
Pochettino proved that this generation plays best when allowed to attack with tempo. Finding a tactician who shares that philosophy matters far more than finding another celebrity name.
Pochettino finishes his Mauricio Pochettino USMNT duties with a two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti, starting Saturday at Miami’s Nu Stadium before wrapping up Tuesday at Cincinnati’s TQL Stadium.
Source: CBS Sports
