United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino and U.S. Soccer have had positive talks about a possible contract extension, sources told ESPN.
Pochettino’s contract with U.S. Soccer runs through the end of this World Cup and the former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea manager has yet to say what his future plans are.
Sources told ESPN that U.S. Soccer would like to retain the 54-year-old for another four-year cycle through the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. The idea would be to also retain the same core of players currently on the roster.
Sources said talks have been positive so far but no decision will be made until this World Cup is over.
The U.S. has qualified for the round of 32, where the team will face Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday.
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In May, Pochettino denied that he met with AC Milan to discuss their vacant coach post that was eventually filled by former Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim. However, the Argentine said that the denial did not extend to his representatives.
“My representatives? It may be possible because they need to do their job,” Pochettino said in May.
Pochettino has been connected with openings at Brentford last June as well as with former club Tottenham, who in March named Roberto De Zerbi on a five-year deal. Pochettino at that time said a return to Tottenham was “not realistic.”
In May, Pochettino said that he and U.S. Soccer Federation CEO JT Batson discussed the possibility of him staying on.
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“He asked if we are open to listen [to] the project of the federation for the next four years,” Pochettino said. “And we said: Of course that we are open. Do you think that if we have a commitment with another people, we are going to waste time to listen?”
Batson has repeatedly said that Pochettino has been “incredibly transparent” about approaches from other clubs.
“[Pochettino], and the entire team, has been incredibly transparent [through] the entire process,” Batson said in May. “So even when we first met a couple summers ago, there are lots of other people interested in having Mauricio and team join.
“He had standing offers from other places to come, and he wanted to be here. He’s a big believer in what we’re doing at U.S. Soccer. He’s a big believer in soccer in America, and he’s a big believer in this men’s team.
“And so throughout this entire process, when you have top-class talent — whether it’s salespeople, whether it’s marketing people or whether it’s coaches — other organizations want them. And throughout this, Mauricio and team have been incredibly transparent.
Just last week Batson again reiterated U.S. Soccer’s pursuit of Pochettino for a long-term deal.
“We all have long-term dreams and ambitions about what U.S. Soccer can be and around what the men’s national team program can be,” he told ESPN.
“We also knew that there was an important job to focus on this summer. And so they mapped out a strategy to prep the team for the summer, and they’ve been maniacally focused on that and obviously now the world is to see the fruits of that.”
