Pep Guardiola On Mauricio Pochettino As U.S. National Team Coach

Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, has backed the decision by the United States men’s national team to hire Mauricio Pochettino as their head coach while also branding the job as “fascinating.”

Pochettino is set to guide the U.S. team during their home World Cup in 2026, following the departure of Gregg Berhalter, who was going in July.

Guardiola and Pochettino have faced each other several times in the Premier League and the City boss says he supports the appointment.

“I wish him and the USA I have friends there the best of luck,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday.

“I know he’s a top-class manager, an experienced manager.”

The appointment of Pochettino, who departed from Chelsea in May, is seen as a bold strategy by the U.S. as they prepare for the World Cup, which will be hosted in two with matches taking place in Mexico and Canada as well.

The Argentine, who has also had spells in charge of Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain, was linked with the manager’s job at Manchester United over the summer.

Guardiola has indicated his desire to become an international coach after his time at City, acknowledging that he understands Pochettino’s decision to take on the role with the U.S., currently ranked 16th in the world due to the country’s potential.

“The USA is fascinating to try to build a project for many years and being able to get the national team to the next step,” added Guardiola.

“The potential with the USA is there for the amount of people and sports and so on. If he has decided it’s because it’s the best for him.”