USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino met with representatives from AC Milan last week about the club’s vacant head coach job while the World Cup is just two weeks away, with his U.S. Soccer contract set to end after the 2026 tournament.
Mauricio Pochettino is supposed to be counting down to the World Cup with the USMNT. Instead, he’s already sitting across the table from a Serie A powerhouse.
The USMNT manager met with representatives from AC Milan over its vacant head coach position last week. with the meeting taking place ahead of the USMNT’s World Cup camp in Georgia. It’s the kind of timing that doesn’t land softly with American fans or players. especially with the World Cup still two weeks away and his attention required on U.S. soil.
Pochettino, 54, has been identified as a potential successor to Massimiliano Allegri, who left the club earlier this week. Another name has also surfaced as a leading candidate: Andoni Iraola.
For Pochettino, the motivation is easy to understand. His contract with U.S. Soccer is only for one World Cup cycle, meaning it ends when the 2026 tournament wraps up. That makes it clear he isn’t signing up for a long runway like his predecessor. Gregg Berhalter. who previously held the job for nearly a decade.
Still, the optics are difficult. Meeting with a club while a World Cup camp is about to begin is a tough look for any manager—mercenary label or not—because it puts a spotlight on his next move at the very moment the team needs focus on the present.
AC Milan, meanwhile, isn’t a random stop. A transition to a club in Italy’s Serie A fits the career path of Pochettino. the former defender who played for Argentina in the 2002 World Cup. His managerial career has included some of the biggest jobs in European football: his first manager gig came with Espanyol in Spain. then he went on to lead Southampton and Tottenham Hotspur in England. From there, he coached Paris Saint-Germain in France before returning to Great Britain to take charge of Chelsea.
The timeline now creates a sharp contrast. On one side is the USMNT World Cup camp in Georgia approaching within weeks. On the other is a head-coach vacancy at AC Milan—one that has already pulled Pochettino into talks before the tournament even begins.
As the World Cup nears, the question for Pochettino becomes less about whether he’s qualified for AC Milan. It’s about how quickly his attention shifts back to the USMNT when the stakes rise for real, in front of the home fans who will expect him to be fully locked in.
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So he’s already leaving before the World Cup? Not a good look.
Milan really couldn’t wait like 2 weeks?? I get contracts end after 2026 but come on, USMNT is right there. Hope the players don’t feel weird about it.
Does this mean he’s gonna coach both?? Like he meets Milan and then still runs training in Georgia, somehow. Also Allegri leaving earlier this week… I don’t even know what day it is anymore lol.
I don’t trust any manager who’s talking to Europe while we’re about to play important games. Reminds me of that Berhalter thing, like it’s all politics behind the scenes. If he’s locked in, he wouldn’t be across the table with AC Milan right now.