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Mauricio Pochettino may currently be at the helm of the U.S. men's national team, having signed a brand-new four-year deal with U.S. Soccer just last month, yet he hasn't ruled out the possibility of one day managing the England national team.
"Maybe, yes ... If you think about it a few years from now, yes ... if I received an approach," Pochettino told The Guardian this week, while clarifying he was simply entertaining a hypothetical future scenario. "[The] U.S. guys will kill me, if you say the headline is: 'Mauricio will consider English job.'"
After guiding the U.S. to the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino re-committed to the federation to steer the USMNT through the 2030 World Cup cycle, while also taking on expanded responsibilities in the development and growth of U.S. Soccer's youth programs and various initiatives.
This month, he will bring the USMNT back together for the first time since their World Cup elimination and lead the side in the opening matches of the new cycle. He is set to announce his squad for the September-October international window on Sept. 17, selecting the 26 players who will feature in four international friendlies against Chile, Peru, Canada, and Mexico. Pochettino plans to blend emerging talents with experienced veterans in order to begin building the new core that will ultimately compete at the 2030 World Cup.
"We need to create a group of players that [is] professional and compete in the way that we expect that they need to compete," Pochettino told U.S. Soccer. "With the talented players and young players that we have ahead, we need to be right and to work with the national team, with all the coaches, youth coaches, all the organization of the coaches ... to integrate in the best way."
Should Pochettino fulfill his entire contract, he would rank among the longest-tenured managers in USMNT history and become only the second coach to lead the nation in two separate World Cups, following Bruce Arena, who guided the team to the quarterfinals in 2002 and a group stage exit in 2006.
Argentina, England Tensions Highlighted
Having made a name for himself as Tottenham Hotspur manager from 2014 to 2019 before later taking charge of Chelsea (2023–24), Pochettino has cemented his reputation as a top-tier manager in English football and on the global stage.
Nevertheless, an Argentine coaching the England men's national team would be a rare sight, as the squad continues to adapt under German manager Thomas Tuchel, only the third non-Englishman ever to lead the side.
It could also prove contentious for England to appoint an Argentine boss, particularly after the 2026 World Cup reignited friction between the two nations during a fiery semifinal clash.
After staging a comeback to beat England 2–1 in stoppage time, several Argentine players displayed a banner reading, "Las Malvinas son Argentinas," referencing Argentina's claim over the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory off the eastern coast of South America that triggered a ten-week conflict in 1982.
Argentina faced sanctions from FIFA following the tournament, including a $321,000 fine for "using a sports event as demonstrations of a non-sporting nature," along with additional penalties handed to individual players.
Pochettino acknowledges the controversy a future appointment could generate. "I am the first to feel for my people in Argentina, but at the end of the day it's just football," he said to The Guardian. "The World Cup semifinal was just one game of football, although people wanted to convert it to other subjects.
"It is true that it can be controversial because an Argentinian guy is thinking to maybe one day defend the flag of England, and we were involved in a war."
"We are very similar, Argentinian and English people, in the way we feel the passion of football," added Pochettino, who maintains his home in North London despite his commitments with the U.S. national team. "I love the countryside here, too. I think [the English] respect all the things that I also grew up with in my country."
For now, however, Pochettino's attention remains firmly on the USMNT, while Tuchel's England look ahead to their own challenges, facing reigning champions Spain, along with Croatia and Czechia in the upcoming fall international window.