Mauricio Pochettino negotiating to succeed Gregg Berhalter as U.S. soccer coach, AP source says

Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. Soccer Federation are working toward a deal for him to become the men’s national team coach, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press.

Pochettino, the former Tottenham, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach, has agreed to take over as the U.S. coach but the deal is not complete, the person said Thursday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was not finalized.

Pochettino would succeed Gregg Berhalter less than 22 months before the Americans host the 2026 World Cup.

The USSF declined to comment.

A 52-year-old Argentine, Pochettino would become the first foreign-born coach to head the U.S. since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011-16. He has coached Espanyol in Spain (2009-12), Southampton (2013-14), Tottenham (2014-19) and Chelsea (2023-24) in England and Paris Saint-Germain in France (2021-22), leaving after winning a Ligue 1 title.

Matt Crocker, the USSF’s sporting director in charge of the search, was Southampton’s academy director when Pochettino started at that club.

The U.S. has four friendlies upcoming, against Canada on Sept. 7, New Zealand three days later, Panama on Oct. 12 and an opponent to be determined on Oct. 15. The next competitive matches are a two-leg CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal in November.

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AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum contributed to this report.

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer