Pochettino Leaves USMNT for Manchester United: What's Next

The U.S. men's national team needs a new coach again. Mauricio Pochettino is leaving the USMNT for Manchester United, the club and U.S. Soccer confirmed Friday, ending a run that was supposed to last through the 2030 World Cup. He signed that extension only in August.

Pochettino isn't gone yet, though. He and his staff will stay for the two-legged CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti, starting Saturday in Miami, before he heads to England, the Associated Press reported.

Why Manchester United wanted him now

United fired Michael Carrick on Thursday after the club's worst league start in 40 years. A team that has won the English title 20 times is in the relegation zone after 10 games and has won just one of its last 11 matches, The Guardian reported.

According to The Guardian, Pochettino was the only candidate United actually sat down with, even though Eddie Howe and Julian Nagelsmann had drawn interest. Club co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe signed off on the choice this week. United's pitch, in its own statement, leaned on his attacking style and his record of developing players.

The 54-year-old Argentine already knows the Premier League well from Southampton, Tottenham and Chelsea. He took Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final and won the French title with Paris Saint-Germain in 2022. He has never won a major trophy in England, the AP noted. He becomes United's eighth permanent manager since Alex Ferguson retired in 2013.

The buyout and the timeline

United paid U.S. Soccer about $10 million to get him out of his contract, with an extra fee for his longtime assistants, per The Guardian. U.S. Soccer hasn't confirmed the amount.

Here's how the next 10 days shake out:

Leg one is at Inter Miami's Nu Stadium because of security concerns in Haiti, according to MLSSoccer.com. U.S. Soccer lists TNT, truTV and HBO Max for Saturday's English broadcast, with Telemundo, Universo and Peacock in Spanish. Tuesday's game is on TBS, truTV and HBO Max. The aggregate winner goes to the Nations League Finals in March and books a spot in the 2027 Gold Cup.

Who could replace Pochettino at USMNT

Nobody has been named. U.S. Soccer CEO JT Batson and chief operating officer Dan Helfrich are running the search, with women's coach Emma Hayes and former U.S. defender Oguchi Onyewu helping, the AP said.

Two names are in early reporting:

• Pep Guardiola. The AP reported the federation is likely to check whether the Manchester City coach is interested. That's a long shot to land, but it shows where U.S. Soccer is aiming.
• Steve Cherundolo. The former U.S. defender coaches the Under-23 team and will run the senior team's December camp, which will be mostly MLS players. The AP said he could be elevated.

There's no rush in calendar terms. After Haiti, the U.S. has no official games until the Nations League semifinals in late March.

How the Pochettino era went

Pochettino took over in September 2024 to steer the U.S. through its first home World Cup in 32 years. He finishes 21-12-2, according to The Guardian.

The high point was the group stage this summer, including a 4-1 win over Paraguay. The tournament ended with a 4-1 loss to Belgium in the round of 16, overshadowed by the red card controversy around forward Folarin Balogun. Before that came a fourth-place Nations League finish in 2024-25 and a loss to Mexico in the 2025 Gold Cup final.

He also leaves a deeper player pool. The Guardian counted 75 players who earned at least one cap under him, and more than a dozen newcomers came in during an unbeaten four-game window after his extension.

"There is tremendous talent in the U.S. player pool from the youth teams through to the senior team," Pochettino said in a statement Friday.

Batson, in U.S. Soccer's statement, said the staff "raised standards" and tied the youth teams more closely to the senior side. Whoever comes next inherits that pipeline and a 2030 World Cup cycle that has barely started.