There has been a buzz around the U.S. men’s national team in the past month after reports flooded in that former Tottenham, Paris Saint-Gemain, and Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino would take over for the departed Gregg Berhalter.
Berhalter, who had coached the USMNT since 2018 across two stints, left following a disappointing group-stage exit at the 2024 Copa America.
Following the initial excitement of Pochettino’s reported hire, however, there’s been radio silence from the federation regarding the potential appointment. It has been almost three weeks since the news first broke, but he cannot sign his contract with U.S. Soccer until his departure from Chelsea earlier that summer is legally finalized.
It is thought that confirmation of his hire could finally come on September 6, but that will be too late for him to take charge of the national team in the September friendlies against Canada and New Zealand, wasting the chance to get started on imprinting his philosophy on the program.
Instead, USMNT youth coach Mikey Varas was appointed to serve as interim head coach for the pair of games this international break.
When will Mauricio Pochettino coach USA?
It’s not publicly known when Pochettino will take charge of the U.S. national team, but it does appear that the finalization of his contract and subsequent official appointment is imminent.
Reporting on the situation has fluctuated. News first broke of Pochettino’s agreement to coach the USMNT on August 16, as Mark Ogden of ESPN was first on the scene. However, Ogden’s original report stated that the Argentine was expected to be signed in time to coach the September friendlies against Canada and New Zealand.
That did not happen. It took time for Pochettino’s representatives to work out the final details of his Chelsea exit, pushing back the date of the announcement. In contrast, U.S. Soccer has insisted that interim head coach Varas had been tasked with the interim coaching role for weeks, backed up by reporting from Paul Tenorio of The Athletic.
According to Fabrizio Romano on September 3, just four days before the game against Canada, the situation has been resolved and Pochettino will sign his USMNT contract “this week,” setting up for him to debut as head coach in October for international friendlies against Panama and Mexico. World Soccer Talk further reported that a U.S. Soccer delegation was traveling to Barcelona to finalize the deal on Friday, September 6.
Furthermore, there are rumors that Pochettino will be in attendance at the Canada match in Kansas City to watch the game, and if that is the case, it would certainly be awkward for him to appear publicly without an official contract yet signed.
All signs point towards an imminent appointment.
Who is USA interim coach Mikey Varas?
The U.S. Soccer federation tabbed Mikey Varas to lead the squad in the September friendlies against Canada and New Zealand. It had been rumored for weeks that Varas would be the man in charge, even if a permanent boss had already been hired by this point, and U.S. Soccer confirmed that the decision to put Varas in the interim role was made a while ago.
An assistant with FC Dallas in 2019, Varas was brought into the U.S. Soccer youth setup in 2021 and coached the U-20 side to a CONCACAF Under-20 Championship title in 2022 before suffering a quarterfinal exit in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup.
Varas has reportedly been named as the first head coach of MLS expansion side San Diego FC, who are set for their debut season in 2025.
U.S. Soccer also announced the addition of a few assistants to the staff, including former Liverpool goalkeeping coach Jack Robinson.
How to watch USA vs. Canada, New Zealand
USA vs. Canada
- Date: Saturday, September 7
- Time: 4 p.m. ET / 1 p.m. PT
- TV channel: TBS
- Streaming: Sling, Max
USA vs. New Zealand
- Date: Tuesday, September 10
- Time: 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT
- TV channel: TNT
- Streaming: Sling, Max
U.S. Soccer has a rights deal with Turner Sports for friendly matches. As such, the match against Canada will be televised on TBS, and three days later the game against New Zealand will be broadcast on TNT.
Both channels are available to stream on Sling, while it can also be found on Turner’s streaming service Max.