Mauricio Pochettino agrees to new contract with USMNT through 2030 World Cup

After a successful appearance at the 2026 World Cup, Mauricio Pochettino will get another four years. Pochettino agreed to a new contract with the USMNT that will take him through the 2030 World Cup, U.S. Soccer announced Monday.

Pochettino, 56, said he was looking forward to making the USMNT "even stronger." He added that he also wanted to "have a lasting impact on the sport in the country."

"Working together with 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. "The passion we experienced from the fans throughout the World Cup only strengthened our belief in what is possible here. We are excited by the opportunity to bring all our experience and knowledge to even more areas of U.S. Soccer while helping strengthen the pathways for players, coaches and teams across the Federation. 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."

Pochettino should get that opportunity, and he and his staff will advise on "youth soccer, coaching education" and other facets within the sport, per U.S. Soccer.

"With this new commitment, he and the coaching staff will also advise and support U.S. 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 financial details of Pochettino's new contract were not immediately available.

While the USMNT fell in the Round of 16, the team managed a few significant milestones at the 2026 World Cup. The team won its group, scored more goals than it had in any previous tournament and picked up its first knockout win in 24 years. Because of that, Pochettino was reportedly offered a four-year extension during the event.

Pochettino was hired by the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) in 2024 to take over after two failed Gregg Berhalter stints. Typically, federations try to hire international managers for a full World Cup cycle, which is every four years. But USSF's choice to rehire (and later fire) Berhalter shortened the window by the time the federation landed on Pochettino to take over.

Still, in just two years, Pochettino was able to build one of the strongest U.S. squads in decades, capitalizing on the talent in the U.S. roster pool and putting unlikely players in the position to thrive. Though Pochettino did his best to downplay the USMNT's chances, hopes sailed high for the team coming out of the group stage.

The USMNT's journey at the 2026 World Cup concluded with a disastrous loss to Belgium in the Round of 16, surrounded by controversy that Pochettino also downplayed. But even with the defeat, it marked the U.S.'s best result at the tournament since a quarterfinal finish in 2002.

The Argentine manager fully embraced American culture throughout the home World Cup. But the question became whether he would want to stay.

Shortly after the World Cup, rumors emerged suggesting Pochettino was "close" to a new deal with U.S. Soccer. A few days later, that was proven to be true.

It's common for international managers to leave their team after the World Cup — especially with a number of attractive club positions open in Europe — but both Pochettino and USSF had expressed interest in continuing to work together.

Now, with Pochettino's future nearly settled, the USMNT can look to the next chapter.