Mauricio Pochettino to leave U.S. men's team for Manchester United after 100 days
Coach Mauricio Pochettino will finish the U.S. national team's Nations League quarter-finals before taking charge of Manchester United, prompting U.S. Soccer to begin a search for a new head coach.
Mauricio Pochettino, 54, is set to depart his role as head coach of the United States men’s national team after just 100 days into his second term. He will complete the CONCACAF Nations League quarter-finals against Haiti – scheduled for Saturday in Miami and Tuesday in Cincinnati – before assuming the managerial position at Manchester United, a club that has recorded its worst start in four decades.
The move is expected to be confirmed on Friday, with an announcement anticipated in England during midday and in the United States early the following morning. United have been in talks with Pochettino’s representatives and the U.S. Soccer Federation, which included a $10 million release clause in his contract signed after the 2022 World Cup.
Pochettino’s tenure with the U.S. team featured a 37-match spell that included a World Cup campaign ending in a Round-of-16 loss to Belgium. The departure comes three months after he and the U.S. Soccer Federation extended their partnership, originally intended to run for four years and target the 2030 World Cup.
U.S. Soccer has not commented on the situation and is expected to launch a search for a replacement immediately. Potential candidates mentioned include Nashville SC’s B.J. Callaghan, former Belgium and Portugal manager Roberto Martínez, U.S. under-23 coach Steve Cherundolo, and Real Sociedad manager Pellegrino Matarazzo.
The national team will not play again with the full senior squad until late March, with the next major tournament being the CONCACAF Gold Cup next summer and World Cup qualifying slated for the following fall.