Mauricio Pochettino will be the next manager of the United States men’s soccer team, replacing Gregg Berhalter. At a pivotal point for an improving American program, Pochettino is exactly the sort of massive acquisition many fans were hoping for.

The United States’ search for a new manager took most of the summer and included several speed bumps, chief among them when former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp declined the position in July. Pocchetino is a seasoned program leader, however, with extensive experience at the highest levels of European football.

After a 17-year playing career, Pocchetino accepted his first managing position with Espanyol in 2009. Though his teams struggled there, as well as in a shorter stint with Southampton, the Argentinian finally broke through with Tottenham Hotspur in 2014. The Premier League side earned Football League Cup runner-up honors in his first year, and in the 2018-19 season, the team made it all the way to the Champions League final.

In 2021, Pocchetino stepped in as manager with Paris Saint Germain, and in a short time with the club, he added a Ligue 1 title and Coupe de France trophy to his resume. In 84 matches under Pocchetino, the team compiled a 55-15-14 record, the most successful tenure of his career.

After taking a year away, Pocchetino jumped back into the Premier League when he signed on as Chelsea’s manager in July 2023. Though he managed to guide the club to a winning record and runner-up finish in the EFL Cup, much of his time at Chelsea was marred by disputes with team leadership. He parted ways with the team last May after 51 matches.

With a new, aggressive leader at the helm, it seems like the United States are moving in a position direction ahead of the 2026 World Cup. Not only does the team have an exciting core, led by star Christian Pulisic, but the U.S. will also be co-host in 2026 and do not need to qualify. This gives the team even more time to prepare for tournament play.

Recently departed Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has reportedly declined an initial offer by the United States men’s national soccer team to take over an open managing position for the 2026 World Cup. Klopp has previously said that he intends to step away from the sidelines for a time due to general fatigue.

Klopp has been near the top of many fans’ lists as the United States looks to replace former manager Gregg Berhalter, who was fired after the team’s group-stage exit from the 2024 Copa America Tournament. According to the Independent, it seems that the United States agrees with public opinion and has already tried to recruit the legendary German manager.

“The Independent understands that initial contact was made with Klopp over the possibility of replacing the 50-year-old, as the United States gears up for the 2026 World Cup,”  The Independent‘s Miguel Delaney reported Wednesday. “But Klopp has turned down the opportunity to enter into formal discussions with the United States Soccer Federation.”

Klopp’s reputation in Europe makes him an ideal, if unrealistic, candidate to take over a rebuilding American men’s soccer program. After an encouraging early coaching run straight out of his playing career with FC Mainz 05, Klopp took over for Dortmund. He helped the team win two Bundesliga titles over Bayern Munich before leaving in 2015 for a position with Liverpool.

In his nine years in the U.K., Klopp turned Liverpool into an international powerhouse. The team won the 2018-19 Champions League, as well as the 2019-20 league title and 2021-22 FA Cup.

In January this year, Klopp announced that he was stepping away from his position at Liverpool, citing a desire to simply stop coaching for a while.

“I love absolutely everything about this club, I love everything about the city, I love everything about our supporters, I love the team, I love the staff. I love everything,” Klopp said in a statement earlier this year. “But that I still take this decision shows you that I am convinced it is the one I have to take. It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.”

Based on Klopp’s conviction in leaving a situation in Liverpool he seemed to truly appreciate, it could be an uphill battle to convince him to relocate to the United States for a new coaching opportunity. The team’s willingness to pursue the long-shot candidate, however, demonstrates an urgent desire to right the ship in time for 2026, when the team will play on home turf in the World Cup.

FIFA announced the host cities and venues for the 2026 World Cup set to take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

In total, 16 cities were chosen, 11 in the U.S. and three in Canada and Mexico. The tournament will kick off in Mexico City on June 11 at Estadio Azteca and conclude on July 19 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. The USMNT already has three matches set that they will play, two at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood on June 12 and 25, as well as one at Lumen Field in Seattle on June 19.

The other cities that will host World Cup games in the U.S. are Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Miami, Philadelphia and San Fransisco. Included in the 78 games hosted by the U.S. out of the 104 total in the tournament are also the semifinal games, which will take place in AT&T Stadium in Dallas and Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. All of the quarterfinal-round games will also be played in the U.S. Each venue will host four to eight games across the entirety of the tournament.

Cities hosting the event are broken up into three groups that teams will more or less stay to minimize travel time and excess spending. The East region will have Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, New York and Toronto. The Central region has Houston, Dallas, Kansas City, Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. The West will have Los Angeles, San Fransisco, Seattle and Vancouver as its regional host cities. The multiple venues in different cities across three different countries differ heavily from the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which had a total of eight venues in a space of only 22 square miles.

The 2026 World Cup in North America will be the first since 2002 that multiple nations host the event, and will be the first in tournament history with 48 teams instead of the 36 that have been invited in the past. There will be 104 games in 39 days, with a span of 27 straight days, with at least one game on. The tournament is also expected to have an average of at least four games per day in the first two weeks of competition.

One game, in particular, might catch American fans’ attention, that being a round of 16 game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on July 4. The game would be on America’s 250th anniversary, and the USMNT could play in that game for a significant patriotic moment. The game is in the knockout round, so it isn’t guaranteed that the U.S. will go that far, but they did make it to the round of 16 in 2022, 2014 and 2010, which bodes well for fans already circling that match.

Though the dates and locations are set, the actual times and teams playing in those games are still unknown. As has been precedent, the hosting countries of America, Canada and Mexico will all have an automatic bid for the competition, but other nations will need to qualify to make it. FIFA will announce the official 48 tournament teams that qualified and put them in 12 different groups, but that will come in December 2025 after other international tournaments have concluded. Once the teams and groups are decided, then times will be set.

Currently, there is no way to buy tickets for the 2026 World Cup now, but fans can register for early interest on the official FIFA website.

The United States, Canada and Mexico all scored a big victory on Wednesday after FIFA, world soccer’s governing body, approved their joint campaign to host the 2026 World Cup.

U.S., Canada And Mexico To Host 2026 World Cup

The decision was made at FIFA’s congress in Moscow, Russia, where this year’s World Cup is being held. The three North American countries beat out Morocco, the only other candidate, for the 2026 tournament hosting rights by a vote of 134-65.

This marks the first time the global soccer tournament is hosted by three nations. The U.S. previously hosted the World Cup in 1994, while the competition took place in Mexico in 1970 and 1986. Canada has never hosted the men’s World Cup, although it hosted the Women’s World Cup in 2015.

The 2026 World Cup will also be the first time the soccer tournament is expanded to include 48 national teams compared to its current 32. Thus, 80 games are expected to be played in total instead of 64. This new decision comes under the leadership of Gianni Infantino, who took over as FIFA president in February 2016. Infantino replaced fellow Swiss Sepp Blatter, who resigned as president in late 2015 amid a giant corruption scandal that involved bribery, money laundering and other financial crimes. Blatter — who has been banned from FIFA until 2022 — had endorsed Morocco to host the 2026 World Cup. Qatar will play host for the 2022 soccer tournament.

The move to increase the number of countries competing in the World Cup, made early last year, received mixed reactions. Critics said including more teams would hurt the competition level and could lead to financial problems due to the need to build more stadiums and broadcast more games, among other reasons.

“Football is the only victor. We are all united in football,” US Soccer president Carlos Cordeiro, who was elected in February, said on Wednesday. “Thank you so, so much for this incredible honor. Thank you for entrusting us with this privilege.”

Out of the 211 member countries of FIFA, 200 cast their vote on Wednesday for the 2026 hosting bid, according to BBC. Officials from some nations reportedly voiced concern over the U.S.’s gun and visa laws before making their decision.

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Allegations of bribery and vote-buying had also plagued the 2018 and 2022 World Cup hosting decisions. In the case of Qatar, there were also claims that workers’ rights have been abused while construction employees strive to build stadiums in the country.

According to The New York Times, the U.S. Soccer Federation “spent more than $6 million — out of a combined budget of about $8 million — to bring the World Cup back to North America.”

Of the 80 games played at the 2026 World Cup, 10 will be held in Mexico and Canada each, while the U.S. will host the other 60 matches, including the final. The final will be played at the New York Giants’ MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

On Tuesday, The New York Times reported that President Donald Trump had recently written three letters addressed to Infantino that may have played a large role in the decision to let the U.S. co-host the 2026 World Cup.

This decision also comes after Trump has been feuding with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over trade following the G7 summit, which was held in Quebec over the weekend.

The World Cup has garnered a growing number of American fans in recent years, even in 2018 after the U.S. failed to qualify. The U.S. has thus far sold the second-highest number of tickets for this year’s tournament after Russia.

Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are reportedly also bidding to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which will mark the 100th anniversary of the tournament.

The United States, Mexico and Canada unveiled on Tuesday their preliminary list of candidate host cities and stadiums for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as part of their joint bid to organize the tournament.

2026 FIFA World Cup news

The list includes 49 venues across 44 cities to host 80 games in the 48-nation competition. Earlier this year, FIFA officials voted to increase the number of teams competing in the World Cup from the current 32.

As part of the three countries’ joint bid, the U.S. is set to host 60 games, while Mexico and Canada would host ten games each.

The 37 stadiums in the U.S. include all 32 NFL teams’ stadiums except for the Buffalo Bills’ New Era Field.

The official bid for the 2026 World Cup by the United States, Mexico and Canada will be delivered to FIFA by the March 16, 2018, deadline and will face competition from Morocco, which announced a bid last week.

The final shortlist of hosting cities and candidates will be announced in late September. Those cities and 20-25 estimated stadiums will then have until January 2018 to make all necessary preparations for their hosting gig. The selected cities will have until Sept. 5 to submit their interest.

The United Bid Committee said Tuesday that “At least 12 locations could ultimately serve as official host cities.”

FIFA requires a capacity of 40,000 for most World Cup games, 60,000 for the semifinals and one of 80,000 for the opener and final, making the only possible venues in the list for those games those in Dallas, Los Angeles and New Jersey, as well as the less likely Washington, Jacksonville and Green Bay.

“The host cities included in our bid will be critical to its success, not only because of their facilities and ability to stage major events, but because they are committed to further developing the sport of soccer by harnessing the impact of hosting a FIFA World Cup,” UBC executive director John Kristick said. “We have had a great response so far and we’re looking forward to working closely with each city and determining the best venues for our official bid that we’ll submit next year.”

The last World Cup the U.S. hosted was in 1994. The U.S. also hosted the 2016 Copa America Centenario.

Here is the full list of potential host cities and stadiums for the 2026 World Cup for all three countries:

USA

37 stadiums in 34 markets

Atlanta, Mercedes-Benz Stadium

Baltimore, M&T Bank Stadium

Birmingham, Legion Field

Boston/Foxborough, Gillette Stadium

Charlotte, Bank of America Stadium

Chicago, Soldier Field

Cincinnati, Paul Brown Stadium

Cleveland, FirstEnergy Stadium

Dallas, Cotton Bowl

Dallas/Arlington, AT&T Stadium

Denver, Sports Authority Field at Mile High

Detroit, Ford Field

Green Bay, Lambeau Field

Houston, NRG Stadium

Indianapolis, Lucas Oil Stadium

Jacksonville, EverBank Field

Kansas City, Arrowhead Stadium

Las Vegas, Raiders Stadium

Los Angeles, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Los Angeles, LA Stadium at Hollywood Park

Los Angeles, Rose Bowl

Miami, Hard Rock Stadium

Minneapolis, US Bank Stadium

Nashville, Nissan Stadium

New Orleans, Mercedes-Benz Superdome

New York/New Jersey, MetLife Stadium

Orlando, Camping World Stadium

Philadelphia, Lincoln Financial Field

Phoenix/Glendale, University of Phoenix Stadium

Pittsburgh, Heinz Field

Salt Lake City, Rice-Eccles Stadium

San Antonio, Alamodome

San Diego, Qualcomm Stadium

San Francisco/San Jose, Levi’s Stadium

Seattle, CenturyLink Field

Tampa, Raymond James Stadium

Washington, D.C./Landover, FedEx Field

CANADA

Nine stadiums in seven markets

Calgary, McMahon Stadium

Edmonton, Commonwealth Stadium

Montreal, Stade Olympique

Montreal, Stade Saputo

Ottawa, TD Place Stadium

Regina, Mosaic Stadium

Toronto, Rogers Centre

Toronto, BMO Field

Vancouver, BC Place

MEXICO

Three stadiums in three markets

Guadalajara, Estadio Chivas

Mexico City, Estadio Azteca

Monterrey, Estadio Rayados

NEW YORK, NY – APRIL 10: Sunil Gulati, (center) president of the United States Soccer Federation (USSF), Canadian CONCACAF President Victor Montagliani (left) and Mexican Football Federation President Decio De Maria hold up a signed unified bid for the 2026 soccer world cup on April 10, 2017 in New York City. Canada, the United States and Mexico launched their bid to co-host the 2026 World Cup at a news conference atop the Freedom Tower in lower Manhattan. The leaders of the three country’s soccer federations are seeking to host the first World Cup with an expanded 48-nation field. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

The United States’ opportunity to host the 2026 World Cup would be gravely damaged should President Donald Trump’s travel restrictions are fully enacted, UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin says.

UEFA President Says Trump’s Travel Ban Could Hurt U.S.’s 2026 World Cup Hosting Bid

Ceferin, installed last year as Europe’s top soccer official, stated measures that could prevent players, fans or journalists from attending the tournament would count against any bid. The U.S. is a clear favorite to host the 2026 World Cup, either alone or as part of a joint North American bid with Mexico and Canada.

However, in an interview at UEFA’s headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland last week, Ceferin stated immigration policy would be among the areas considered during the assessment of a U.S. bid, and he implied that it would “not help” the country’s case if Mr. Trump succeeded in placing stricter restrictions on travel to the United States from certain countries in the short term. Although the American President’s initial 90-day ban on immigration and travel from seven Muslim-majority nations was overturned by a federal court following its enactment in late January, he has vowed to issue a second executive order that would limit travel from those same nations, at least temporarily.

“It will be part of the evaluation, and I am sure it will not help the United States to get the World Cup,” Mr. Ceferin said. “If players cannot come because of political decisions, or populist decisions, then the World Cup cannot be played there. It is true for the United States, but also for all the other countries that would like to organize a World Cup.

“It is the same for the fans, and the journalists, of course. It is the World Cup. They should be able to attend the event, whatever their nationality is. But let’s hope that it does not happen.”

 Ceferin’s warning carries significance: in addition to his UEFA post, the 49-year-old Slovenian is also a vice president of FIFA, world soccer’s governing body and the organizer of the World Cup. Bids for the 2026 tournament must be submitted by December 2018, before the beginning of a 13-month evaluation phase. FIFA will select the host at a congress in May 2020.

The Trump administration’s executive order drew concern from FIFA officials because three of the seven countries on the ban list have national teams that could be affected should the policy become more than temporary. One of them, Iran, has played in the World Cup three times since 1998, and two others — Iraq and Syria — have joined Iran in the later rounds of Asian qualifying for next year’s tournament in Russia.

The 2026 World Cup will be the first to have 48 teams competing after FIFA unanimously agreed last month to expand the tournament from its current 32-team format. On March 30, the governing body is expected to decide how many spots each confederation will be given. However, Mr. Ceferin insisted that Europe’s conditions are clear: UEFA will demand 16 places, an increase of three teams, and request a guarantee that only one European team will be placed in each three-team group.

Mr. Ceferin added that stricter immigration policies could also harm Britain’s hopes of hosting major finals once that nation exits the European Union. The semifinals and final of the 2020 European Championship are set for London.

“If ‘Brexit’ happens, everything changes,” Mr. Ceferin said. “But football was played before, and it will be played in the future. Now, with free movement in the European Union, it is much better.”

Mr. Ceferin, a former president of Slovenia’s soccer federation, insisted that UEFA’s commitment to staging the final matches of Euro 2020 in England remained “firm.” However, he added that the organization may have to discount Britain as a potential venue for showpiece games should ‘Brexit’ make it harder for players and fans to enter the country.

ROTTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – NOVEMBER 08: UEFA President, Aleksander Ceferin speaks on stage during the UEFA Women’s EURO 2017 Final Tournament Draw held at the Luxor Theater on November 8, 2016 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)