What You Need to Know About New USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino

You may have heard the name Mauricio Pochettino and seen hardcore soccer fans in the United States getting excited—or even been excited yourself.

But what is it about the 52-year-old manager that has everyone hoping and praying he'll be the change needed to lift the U.S. men's national team to success at the 2026 World Cup?

Here's why folks are excited and what you need to know about the new USMNT head coach.

Plenty of international managers are former players. Gregg Berhalter, the manager Pochettino is replacing, played for the U.S. at a World Cup and was on the roster for another. Yet, few managers are players who played for managers as influential as the ones Pochettino played for.

Marcelo Bielsa, a legendary manager who has influenced the game's top minds, was one of Pochettino's first coaches as he joined the youth academy at Newell's Old Boys in Rosario. He went on to play more than 150 matches for the Argentine club, many under Bielsa.

Yet, it wasn't only Bielsa who marked Poch's time at Newell's. The legend goes that Jorge Griffa joined Bielsa on a scouting trip. After hearing he was the best player in the town of Murphy, Griffa went to the young defender's home and found him sleeping. They convinced him to join Newell's rather than the club's cross-town rival.

Pochettino developed at an academy built on the fundamentals espoused by Griffa, who died earlier this year. Pochettino moved abroad to Espanyol, first working under José Antonio Camacho before a reunion with Bielsa. He would spend most of his career there, playing more than 275 matches for 'the other club' in Barcelona.

It is something notable about Pochettino even as he takes the reins of the United States: He played for Newell's, not River Plate or Boca Juniors. He went to Espanyol, not Barcelona. His top coaching moment was with Tottenham Hotspur, not one of the 'Big Four' teams. But rather than an underdog mentality, Poch went into it to win.

Rare is the manager who comes into a new job and says in the opening news conference, "Get ready to watch some boring soccer." That wasn't Pochettino's approach either.

"We want to play good football. We want to play exciting football," Pochettino said last month. "We are in the USA. I think to convince our fans, it's about attracting. The aesthetic is really important."

The difference between Pochettino and past managers who promised a sexy style is that Pochettino can point to evidence that backs it up.

At Chelsea, at PSG, at Spurs, and even before those stops, Pochettino prioritized aggression from his teams, hoping to keep opponents in their own half to prevent dangerous chances. He also wants his players to read the game and have the freedom to make decisions, especially when that decision is to get forward.

One big tactical question about Pochettino's approach is where to play Christian Pulisic. The versatile attacker is the best player on his squad right now and is in great form with AC Milan. With Chelsea, Pochettino gave Cole Palmer nearly a free role in the attack, whether he wanted to play in the center of the attack or float in from the right wing.

Whatever variation Pochettino opts for with his No. 10, he wants to put his principles into action. Those principles are some of the easiest on the eye in world football, and it will make it that much simpler for U.S. fans to buy in.

The excitement around Pochettino is real—and it should be. This is a coach who has been around the game learning from the best his entire life. He wants to play exciting soccer.

So, ahead of his debut Saturday against Panama and a trip to Guadalajara to meet Mexico, is there a catch?

There are a few knocks on Pochettino that could dampen some of the excitement should they be the reason results don't go the United States' way.

First, this is a job that, at the moment, is packed with pressure. Americans desperately want the men's national team to succeed on home soil in 2026. Yet, Pochettino can only control so much as the manager. This is his first international job, one that will require him to learn skills and techniques he didn't need at the club level. In a club, the manager is working with his players nearly every day. In the next six months, Pochettino will have this month's camp, next month's camp and then games in March to see his top squad.

Not that the manager seems worried.

"Everyone thinks there is no time to prepare to arrive in our best condition at the World Cup. I'm on the opposite side. I believe there's time enough," Pochettino said. "Football is like this, touch the right button and start to perform."

The other criticism that has dogged Pochettino is that he has failed to win the big one. His only league title as a manager was his 2021-22 Ligue 1 crown with Paris Saint-Germain, a title that was earned but is seen as almost a given because of PSG's financial strength compared to their French rivals.

Still, a run to the final of the UEFA Champions League with Tottenham Hotspur, finishing eighth with Southampton a decade ago, and the trophies with PSG hint at a coach who can get great results out of his players, even when he may not have the most talent on the field.

Pochettino doesn't need to lift the World Cup to show the excitement the fan base currently feels is lacking—though that wouldn't hurt anything. He simply needs to show that the team can reflect his character: A winner who lives and breathes the game and will do everything possible to find success.

Now that's exciting.