While Mauricio Pochettino’s appointment as the new head coach of the United States men’s national team has yet to become official, The Athletic reported Saturday that the former English Premier League and Ligue 1 manager will be with the national team in some capacity in September.
Pochettino is expected to be with the USMNT for a friendly against Canada on Sept. 7 at Kansas City, Kan., although it still might not be from the sideline in a decision-maker capacity.
Until Pochettino is up to speed with the USMNT, Mikey Vargas has been appointed as the interim coach, per ESPN. Vargas is the former head coach of the United States’ U-20 squad.
The delay in making Pochettino’s new position official, according to The Athletic report, is the coach’s resolution of a severance package from Chelsea. He also coached Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton in England and Paris Saint-Germain in France, along with Espanyol in Spain.
Pochettino, a native of Argentina, has been out of work since leaving Chelsea by mutual consent in May.
Following a long playing career as a center back with Newell’s Old Boys, Espanyol, PSG and Bordeaux, Pochettino took his first coaching job at Espanyol in 2009. He led Tottenham to a runner-up Premier League finish in 2016-17 and the Champions League final in 2018-19, then guided PSG to a Ligue 1 title in 2021-22.
The United States Soccer Federation fired former USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter in July after the host U.S. squad failed to advance from the group stage at the 2024 Copa America.
–Field Level Media
