Following the announcement of Mauricio Pochettino extending his contract with the U.S. men’s national team, FOX Sports analyst Alexi Lalas shared his perspective on the state of the program and the expectations facing the head coach heading towards the 2030 World Cup.
Reflecting on the recent tournament performance, Lalas noted that the job ultimately comes down to winning matches in the knockout stages.
“When it comes to Mauricio Pochettino and his job and role, it was to win the game against Belgium, and in that moment, he and this team failed,” Lalas said on his “State of the Union” podcast.
Lalas emphasized that evaluating a manager based on results on the biggest stage and whether he can lead the Stars and Stripes to new heights.
“Where he is again going to be judged is if he is going to get us to that rarefied air and that promised land. And for a lot of people, and that was made very very clear this summer, that is winning the round of 16 games.”
Lalas explained that success in those key matches shifts the broader conversation surrounding American soccer. “If this U.S. team under Mauricio Pochettino this summer had found a way to get past Belgium, all of this talk and all of this self-examination—whether it’s you know pay-to-play and player development and style of play and who we are as a soccer-playing nation—that all goes away,” Lalas said.
Looking ahead, Lalas expressed support for keeping Pochettino for the upcoming cycle. That includes competitions such as the Concacaf Nations League, the Concacaf Gold Cup and possibly the 2028 Copa América should the U.S. be an invited team.
“I think Mauricio Pochettino is fine. I think that he will be a better coach this cycle than he was last cycle,” Lalas said.
However, he stressed the importance keeping the commitment through the next tournament, where the USA will actually need to go through the qualifying process this time around.
“That final judgment will come four years from now, and it remains to be seen whether he is even going to be in charge four years from now. It would really disappoint me if, after all of this and this decision that has been made today, if Mauricio Pochettino was not the coach four years from now because he saw something better or took a different job someplace else.”
