Mauricio Pochettino to USMNT: U.S. Soccer set to give fans what they want, and why now there are no excuses

The UEFA Champions League finalist will reportedly be one of the highest-profile people to coach the USMNT

When U.S. Soccer fired Gregg Berhalter in July after the U.S. men's national team crashed out of the group stages of the Copa America, the federation essentially made a big promise to the fanbase -- it would land a high-caliber replacement ahead of the 2026 World Cup, one that would match the importance many have placed on a competition on home soil.

Landing such a candidate, though, was uncharted territory for the USMNT. The national team has almost exclusively been led by those with experience in the domestic game, and though that does not necessarily hinder the team's success, most felt like a fresh set of eyes was needed to reboot the program after the Copa America failure. Just as they did with the game-changing hiring of Emma Hayes to lead the women's national team last fall, U.S. Soccer are close to working with the most high-profile option available to them as they reportedly near the finish line on welcoming Mauricio Pochettino as the head coach of the USMNT. The federation's board of directors is yet to approve the move and neither party has yet signed a contract, but the fact that Pochettino is the finalist for the job is a strong signal that U.S. Soccer is determined to deliver on their ambitious promise.

Though it was initially unclear which direction U.S. Soccer would go in, Pochettino feels like a good fit for multiple reasons. He boasts an impressive résumé with plenty of Premier League experience at Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, while mixing in a spell coaching Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain. Pochettino is well-known for a pressing, attack-minded style of play that, at its best, makes his team an entertaining watch. Most impressively, though, he is familiar with the task of coaching a team to punch above their weight -- his Tottenham team reached the 2019 Champions League final and finished as runners-up in the 2016-17 Premier League season.