--- title: "Mauricio Pochettino to leave the US national team and become Manchester United head coach" url: https://badiyaa.com/pochettino-manchester-united-head-coach/ published: 2026-11-13T18:20:00+00:00 modified: 2026-11-13T18:20:00+00:00 section: Sports publisher: Badiyaa --- # Mauricio Pochettino to leave the US national team and become Manchester United head coach Mauricio Pochettino will become Manchester United head coach on November 18 after leading the U.S. men's national team in its matches against Haiti. Mauricio Pochettino is leaving the United States men’s national team for Old Trafford. Manchester United published the news on its own website on Friday, November 13, under the plain headline “Pochettino to become head coach,” and U.S. Soccer confirmed the same day that he will lead the national team through its upcoming matches against Haiti before joining the club. The 54-year-old Argentine is due to start at United on November 18 on a deal of two and a half years, according to his public career record. He takes over from Michael Carrick, whose exit the club addressed in a statement on November 12. ## A national team job cut short The timing is the striking part. U.S. Soccer announced in August 2026 that Pochettino had agreed a new contract running through 2030, after a home World Cup in which his side won three matches, a record for an American coach at the tournament. United activated a buyout clause in that deal this month, which is why the federation is now planning for life after him only weeks into a new four-year cycle. His last act in charge of the U.S. will be the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti. After that, the federation will need a new head coach for the first time since it hired him on September 10, 2024. ## Why United wanted him Pochettino is no stranger to the Premier League. He has managed three English clubs before this one: - **Southampton (2013–2014):** took the Saints to eighth, matching their best Premier League finish. - **Tottenham Hotspur (2014–2019):** a second-place finish in 2016–17 and the club’s first Champions League final in 2019. - **Chelsea (2023–2024):** one season, a League Cup final and a sixth-place finish before both sides agreed to part. Across those spells he built a reputation for intense pressing, demanding fitness work and a willingness to hand first-team chances to academy players, with Harry Kane the best-known example from his Spurs years. United, a club that prides itself on its youth system, will be hoping that last trait carries over. He has also spoken warmly over the years about Sir Alex Ferguson, describing a 2016 meeting with the former United manager as a valuable lesson in how to improve as a coach. Now he inherits the dugout Ferguson made famous. ## How the move compares with his past jobs Counting from his first day at Espanyol in January 2009, United will be Pochettino’s seventh head coaching post in just under 18 years, and his fourth in England. If he sees out the full two and a half years, he would leave in mid-2029, which would make it his longest job since Tottenham, where he stayed five and a half years. His shortest English spell, at Chelsea, lasted 51 matches. For American fans, the move closes a short but eventful chapter. His U.S. team reached the 2025 Gold Cup final, then won its World Cup group with a game to spare in 2026. In the new cycle he gave debuts to eight teenagers, including 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan, and won all four matches in his first window this fall. For more soccer news from the U.S. side of the story, read our report on [Megan Rapinoe, Jozy Altidore, Julie Ertz and David Beckham entering the National Soccer Hall of Fame](https://badiyaa.com/rapinoe-altidore-ertz-beckham-soccer-hall-fame/), and browse the rest of our [sports coverage on Badiyaa](https://badiyaa.com/category/sports/). ## What happens next The Haiti fixtures come first. Once they are done, Pochettino switches to club football, with his first day in the job set for Wednesday, November 18. United’s next home games, against Brentford and Coventry City, are already on sale through the club. ## Further reading - [Wikipedia: Mauricio Pochettino](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mauricio_Pochettino) *Image: Bryan Berlin, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons* *This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by our Editorial Desk. [How we work](https://badiyaa.com/editorial-policy/).*