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The Argentine had previously managed several Premier League clubs, including Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, before taking the helm of the U.S. men's national team in the autumn of 2024. Now, Mauricio Pochettino is making his way back across the Atlantic, set to take over at Manchester United, who have dismissed Michael Carrick following the club's worst seasonal start in forty years.
While losing Pochettino so shortly after securing him on a new, long-term deal will be a painful blow to the USMNT, the timing could prove to be a silver lining. With the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals approaching in the next few days, the USMNT won't return to competitive play until March. In the meantime, U.S. Soccer will receive $10 million from United for activating Pochettino's release clause, with that sum potentially climbing significantly if the club also recruits his backroom staff, including Jesús Pérez and his son, Sebastiano Pochettino. That money could go toward funding a new manager.
And while Pochettino came on board more than halfway through the USMNT's 2026 World Cup cycle, the incoming manager will still have nearly the full 2030 cycle to shape the team.
The USMNT as a whole will navigate this transition; however, one thing remains clear: there are several players who stand to suffer from his exit. Equally, there are many others who stand to benefit.
Winners
Joe Scally
Joe Scally has loosened up and unleashed a more dynamic version of his game. After registering just four goals and nine assists across his first seven professional seasons, Scally has already equaled that goals tally and added two assists in just 10 appearances this season. He has become a bright spark for bottom-placed Borussia Mönchengladbach.
He is rapidly establishing himself as one of the most dangerous attacking fullbacks in Germany, yet his performances appear to have gone unnoticed. After making two brief appearances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Scally has since been overlooked for consecutive USMNT call-ups under Pochettino this fall.
While it will be tough for Scally to displace Champions League regulars Alex Freeman and Sergiño Dest, it reflects Pochettino's lack of faith in the 23-year-old that he'd sooner test players he barely knows, such as Frankie Westfield, Bryan Reynolds and Reed Baker-Whiting. A change in management could be exactly what Scally needs to reclaim his spot in the USMNT setup.
Timothy Weah
After bursting onto the scene in the aftermath of the USMNT's failed 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, Timothy Weah swiftly became a key figure under former boss Gregg Berhalter and started all four games at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. However, he has never quite been on the same page as Pochettino. When Weah voiced frustration over the steep ticket prices at the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino publicly called him out, insisting it was not Weah's "duty to evaluate the price of the ticket."
Weah came off the bench for the final 25 minutes in the 2026 World Cup opener against Paraguay, before earning a start in the dead rubber against Türkiye; however, he never truly found his footing under Pochettino.
"I'm disappointed in myself," he admitted after the group stage finale. "I think my teammates did an amazing job, but from a personal level, I think I played a horrible game. It was just one of those days where nothing worked for me."
Despite his underwhelming World Cup showing, Weah has rediscovered his form at club level with Marseille. He has worn the captain's armband and excelled from the right back position, helping the French club string together four consecutive victories. It still hasn't been enough to earn a second chance under Pochettino, with the 53-cap international being excluded from the first two USMNT squads of the 2026–27 season. He could stand to gain enormously from Pochettino's return to England.
Aidan Morris
Aidan Morris started in the opening two matches of the Pochettino era before a knee injury sidelined him for a year. He returned in the autumn of 2025, featuring in all four friendlies before starting against Portugal in the final game ahead of Pochettino's World Cup squad announcement.
Regrettably, Morris was among the last players to miss out on the coveted tournament roster and was subsequently left out of the first two call-ups of the new campaign. He has clearly refused to let Pochettino's repeated omissions affect his club form, with the American cementing himself as a key figure in Middlesbrough's midfield. Even after being left out of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals squad, he still produced a Man of the Match performance at Watford on Saturday.
Of Morris's 14 USMNT caps, only two have come in competitive fixtures (during the 2023 Gold Cup). That hasn't changed under Pochettino, but it could under a new manager — particularly if Boro maintain their promotion push.
Losers
Matt Freese
When Pochettino first took the reins, Matt Freese had never been part of a USMNT squad. Since his appointment, however, Freese has overtaken Matt Turner as the first-choice goalkeeper, starting in 20 of their last 27 matches and featuring in both the 2025 Gold Cup and the home World Cup.
Yet following a disappointing showing on the global stage this summer, the 28-year-old has repeatedly struggled to impress. Pochettino handed him just one appearance in the previous window, while giving increased opportunities to younger goalkeepers Diego Kochen, Brian Schwake and Chris Brady, hinting at a gradual shift away from the 28-year-old.
While Freese has been the first-choice keeper for the bulk of Pochettino's tenure — and even earned a November call-up — his difficulties in possession have continued to hurt the team, most notably his costly error against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16. With Pochettino now gone, there is every reason to believe his starting spot is increasingly up for grabs.
Giovanni Reyna
Reyna made his debut under Pochettino in the Concacaf Nations League third-place match against Canada back in March 2025. It would be eight months before he returned to the Argentine's squad, after which he went on to feature in all 13 of the USMNT's matches in 2026, including all five World Cup games.
Pochettino has been Reyna's biggest advocate throughout the year, recognizing in him a "very special talent," even as the player warmed the bench at Mönchengladbach in the buildup to the summer's showpiece tournament.
But since departing Germany for France, Reyna has vindicated Pochettino's belief, hitting the ground running at new club Strasbourg.
"It's really important [for him] to start regularly at Strasbourg," Pochettino told Sports Illustrated last week. "When he wasn't playing regularly, he was important, but now, he's building his confidence and fitness, which is important for a player like Gio."
Reyna scored in last weekend's clash against Toulouse before picking up a thigh injury that forced him to withdraw from the November camp. For Reyna, the timing could hardly be worse, particularly with Pochettino now stepping away. It remains to be seen whether the next USMNT manager will share the same strong belief in Reyna that Pochettino held. The incoming boss may well conclude that Reyna's injury record makes him too much of a risk.