Mauricio Pochettino reportedly close to renewing USMNT contract ahead the 2030 World Cup
According to reports, Mauricio Pochettino is close to renewing his contract with the USMNT ahead of the 2030 World Cup. Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly nearing a new deal with the USMNT, a four-year extension that would keep him in charge of the national team through the 2030 World Cup. His original contract only covered the buildup to this summer’s tournament, leaving his future as a subject of speculation even as talks with the federation had reportedly already begun before the World Cup kicked off. According to Telemundo’s Andres Cantor, the extension is close to being finalized, a report subsequently confirmed by The Athletic’s David Ornstein. The deal is said to be in its final stages, though it still requires formal approval from US Soccer’s board of directors before it can be made official. Federation president Cindy Parlow Cone has spoken publicly about the progress of the negotiations, describing conversations with Pochettino as “going well” and suggesting an announcement could come in the near future. Mauricio Pochettino celebrates USA’s victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina. (Getty Images) The push to keep Pochettino in place comes despite a tournament that ended in some disappointment on the pitch, with the U.S. eliminated in the Round of 16 by Belgium in a lopsided 4-1 defeat. That result, however, doesn’t appear to have shaken the federation’s confidence in the Argentine coach, whose overall body of work with the program has been used to justify locking him in for another cycle. Pochettino’s numbers as USMNT manager Since taking over, Pochettino has posted a 18-1-12 record across 31 matches in charge of the USMNT. His World Cup campaign specifically produced a string of historic results: the U.S. topped Group D with wins over Paraguay and Australia, racking up six points, the most in a group stage in program history, and the first time the U.S. had won two group-stage matches since 1930. That form carried into the knockout rounds, where a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 marked the team’s first knockout-stage victory since 2002. Between those results, Pochettino became the winningest head coach in USMNT history at a single World Cup, with three victories in the tournament, while the team also set a new U.S. scoring record with 11 goals across five matches before finishing 12th overall.
