It has been a challenging week for Mauricio Pochettino, whose USMNT squad suffered back-to-back defeats during the final international break of the club season.
The disappointing results come amid growing speculation linking Pochettino with a return to Tottenham, as pressure mounts on Ange Postecoglou following a disastrous campaign.
Despite Tottenham’s struggles, Pochettino remains a beloved figure among Spurs fans, often emerging as the preferred candidate whenever the club searches for a new manager.
With uncertainty surrounding Postecoglou’s future, talk of a potential reunion has resurfaced.
For now, Pochettino has publicly expressed his commitment to the USMNT project. However, it has been a difficult stretch for the team, with a CONCACAF Nations League semi-final loss to Panama followed by a third-place playoff defeat to Canada on Sunday night.
Before that tough week begun, he told The Guardian: “Football is going to be a serious sport [in the US] because it has a home. When you go to the US now [for camps and matches], one time you go to Los Angeles, then it’s New York, Chicago, Miami, Orlando or St Louis. Where is the centre for football? If you look at the training centres of the NFL and baseball, you say: ‘Wow.’ With football, it is: ‘Where is the team going to train? We need to ask the colleges and universities.’
“We have Lionel Messi in the MLS and he is helping a lot. But creating the new training centre in Atlanta is as important an impact as having a Messi. In five or 10 years, for sure the US can be No 1 in the world.”
On the World Cup, he added: “For us, the pressure is going to be there [at the World Cup] because we are a host. And then it’s a country where the mentality is about winning. In sport, in everything that Americans are involved in, they want to win. The players know it’s going to be massive pressure and now our president [Trump] likes to put pressure on, but it’s welcome. That means we are going to feel the adrenaline we need to feel. We are ready to deliver.”
Pochettino on possible Spurs return
Pochettino has recently spoken about a possible return to Tottenham in the future. He told Sky News: “When I left the club I always remember one interview I said I would like one day to come back to Tottenham. I am in the USA, so I am not going to talk about that now – but what I said then I still, after six years or five years, feel in my heart. Yes, I would like one day to come back.”
He added: “It’s true after nearly six years with all that we lived together, it was tough because of all the ups and downs and emotional things that we lived. We split very well. One thing was professional, another personal and now, like the day after we left Tottenham, we always have a very, very good relationship.”
Defining factor in Mauricio Pochettino’s future
BBC Sport has compiled a report on Mauricio Pochettino’s potential return to Tottenham, as speculation surrounding his future continues to intensify.
According to a BBC source, the U.S. Soccer Federation would be entitled to “one of the biggest financial compensation fees in football history” if Pochettino were to leave before the conclusion of the U.S. men’s national team’s 2026 World Cup campaign.
With the U.S. co-hosting the tournament alongside Canada and Mexico, Pochettino’s appointment was a statement of intent—an effort to mount a serious challenge on home soil.
To safeguard their investment, the U.S. Soccer Federation has put significant financial protections in place, making an early departure highly unlikely.
As things stand, it appears the former Spurs manager will remain in charge at least until the summer of 2026.
