Familiarity will be a theme for the U.S. men’s national soccer team at the 2030 World Cup.
Despite major speculation before and throughout the 2026 World Cup that manager Mauricio Pochettino was leaning toward returning to the club level, the United States Soccer Federation announced Monday that the 54-year-old had agreed to a new contract to keep him on the red, white, and blue sideline through 2030.
“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,” Pochettino said in the announcement.
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“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 and staff led the USMNT to just its third World Cup group stage outright win in team history at the 2026 World Cup, as well as the squad’s first knockout-stage win since 2002 with a 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
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The USMNT was certainly looking to earn a spot in the quarterfinals, at minimum, in Pochettino’s first run as World Cup manager, and while it fell short thanks to a wildly disappointing outing against Belgium in the Round of 16, it’s difficult to say his re-upping with the national team is not a significant win for American soccer.
On paper, that is, at the very least.
For starters, it’s hard to imagine the USMNT attracting a bigger, more-proven name than Pochettino to take over. On top of that, USA soccer presumably handing over more rein to a proven manager trying to build a team culture while the country continues to grow its own soccer culture feels like a no-brainer.
The 2030 World Cup will be jointly hosted by Portugal, Spain, and Morocco.
It is impossible to predict what the USMNT will look like in four years, but having the same manager building momentum who is already familiar with the territory, players, and prospects is a great first for the future of American soccer.
