Ethan Sears Mauricio Pochettino’s biggest USMNT change should endure after his Manchester United exit By Ethan Sears Published Nov. 12, 2026, 9:00 p.m. ET See more of our coverage in your search results.
Make New York Post a Preferred Source Mauricio Pochettino, Head Coach of United States has a few words of encouragement for Cavan Sullivan. ISI Photos via Getty Images Do as he said, not as he did.
Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure as U.S. men’s national team coach, which comes to an end when the current international window closes with Manchester United naming the Argentine to take over its open position, will go down as a missed opportunity first and foremost. His team flashed terrific potential, electrified the country at a home World Cup and, ultimately, lost at the same stage as Gregg Berhalter’s and Jurgen Klinsmann’s.
Whether a full four-year cycle would have produced better results — Pochettino failed to win both the Concacaf Nations League and the Gold Cup in his first year in charge — is an interesting hypothetical. The federation clearly believed it would have done so, having brought him back, but barring a shocking reversal, we won’t get to find out. Folarin Balogun’s words Thursday, though, were striking.
“If I had a vote, I would like to keep things the way they are,” Balogun told reporters at the National Training Center outside Atlanta. “Things have been working well. We have a clear sense of identity. We have a clear playing style and whenever you have a top coach, you want them to stay.”
