Pochettino's USMNT tenure had ups, downs and mercenary feel - ESPN

U.S. Soccer's Mauricio Pochettino experiment officially ended Friday with the announcement that the Argentine manager is leaving his position with the U.S. men's national team to take up the reins with Manchester United.

Like most experiments, there is a judgement to be made as to whether the 26 months Pochettino spent at the helm of the USMNT was a success or failure. There is certainly a strong impulse to think it was the latter. U.S. Soccer spent millions of dollars in terms of Pochettino's salary — and that of his staff — to come up with the same FIFA World Cup finish it reached in 2010, 2014 and 2022.

Closer inspection requires a more nuanced assessment. To call Pochettino's tenure a failure assumes a linear path from 2022 to 2026. The reality was much different. Pochettino didn't take over the USMNT off the back of the round-of-16 performance at the 2022 World Cup. He took over in September 2024 at what was unquestionably a low ebb.

The debacle that was that summer's Copa América, which featured a group stage exit for the U.S. from a tournament it was hosting, set off alarm bells as to the possible performance at the World Cup on home soil. Too many players had become complacent, and it cost then-manager Gregg Berhalter his job. The following year's Concacaf Nations League, in which the USMNT lost to both Panama and Canada, revealed that there would be no quick fixes.

The USMNT eventually rebounded. The team's culture was repaired thanks to Pochettino's no-excuses, total-commitment approach. Young players such as Matt Freese, Alex Freeman, Sebastian Berhalter and Malik Tillman took on bigger roles. Tactically, Pochettino hit upon a high-pressing system that played to the team's strength in midfield with the