US Soccer confirms Mauricio Pochettino is talking to clubs two weeks before World Cup

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

US Soccer CEO JT Batson insists that Mauricio Pochettino is fully focused on the World Cup despite engaging in talks with club suitors.

The biggest event in sports is now just two weeks away, with the US finalising preparations for a second World Cup on home soil. On Tuesday, Pochettino officially unveiled his 26-man roster for this summer's tournament.

The coach certainly made some contentious decisions, with the roster looking incredibly thin on defensive-minded midfielders, but that seems to be USMNT tradition at this point. The fact that he informed the players who didn't make the cut via email caused quite the stir.

It is fair to say that the atmosphere around the team is less upbeat and optimistic than in late 2025, but World Cup fever is slowly beginning to spread. Even with all the outside noise surrounding the competition, it is difficult not to get excited about tournament football.

And yet, doubts remain. Doubts over the team and the coach. Is Pochettino really committed to the project? After all, he has made it quite clear that he is a club coach first and foremost and that his spell with the USMNT is only a brief sojourn into a different kind of football.

Pochettino holding talks with suitors

The chances of the Argentine sticking around for a second cycle appear slim to none, and there is no hiding from the fact that Pochettino is already thinking about what he will do when his contract expires in July.

According to The Athletic, Pochettino is holding talks with suitors despite the World Cup being right around the corner. The 54-year-old met with a delegation from AC Milan last week to discuss their head coaching vacancy.

The Rossoneri cleaned house earlier this week, sacking manager Massimiliano Allegri, CEO Giorgio Furlani, sporting director Igli Tare and technical director Geoffrey Moncada in one fell swoop after missing out on the Champions League last Sunday.

At the time of the meeting, departing Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola was also considered a leading candidate for the Serie A giants, but reports on Thursday revealed that the Basque has informed Milan that he is not interested in the role.

Iraola is now the favourite to become the next Bayer Leverkusen head coach, potentially leaving Pochettino as one of the main options for the Rossoneri. This will only fuel the fear that their interest could become a distraction for the USMNT boss.

At Milan, Pochettino would be reunited with Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah, who has not been called up for the World Cup. He spent the season on loan at Atalanta but will return to Milan in the summer.

Pochettino was also briefly considered by Real Madrid before president Florentino Perez decided to go all-in on Jose Mourinho. Despite the interest in the Argentine, US Soccer is calm about the situation.

US Soccer unbothered by Pochettino talks

Speaking to reporters at the USMNT's training base in Georgia, the federation's CEO JT Batson insisted that Pochettino is fully focused on the task at hand and that he has been "transparent about club interest."

There has actually been "a longer list of outreach than what has even been reported," Batson admitted, but he is not bothered by Pochettino engaging with suitors. "Mauricio and the entire team have been incredibly transparent the entire process."

"Even when we first met a couple summers ago, there were lots of other people interested in having Mauricio and [his staff] join. He had standing offers from other places to come, and he wanted to be here.

"He’s a big believer in what we’re doing at US Soccer, he’s a big believer in soccer in America and he’s a big believer in this men’s team. When you have top-class talent, whether it’s salespeople, whether it’s marketing people, or whether it’s coaches, other organizations want them.

"Throughout this, Mauricio and team have been incredibly transparent, they’ve been great partners, and we’re, of course, excited about the summer." Batson added that "Mauricio and team are 100% focused on this summer."

When asked about Pochettino potentially staying on, Batson was unable to provide a clear answer, only suggesting that "very long discussions" had already taken place. He did reveal, though, that there are monthly succession-planning meetings for all coaching positions at US Soccer.

When the names of Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp came up as options for the first team, he deflected. "We have been focused on this summer, and that’s been all of our priority," Batson said.

Players Tim Weah and Tyler Adams echoed the CEO's sentiment that Pochettino holding talks with clubs was not a big deal.