The USMNT Winners and Losers of Mauricio Pochettino’s Shock Move to Man Utd

The Argentine had already led various Premier League sides, such as Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea before taking charge of the U.S. men’s national team in the fall of 2024. Now, Mauricio Pochettino is headed back across the Atlantic, set to command Manchester United, who have axed Michael Carrick after the club’s worst start to a season in four decades.

While losing Pochettino so soon after tying him down to a new, long-term contract will come as a bitter blow to the USMNT, the timing might just be a blessing in disguise. Following the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals play in the coming days, the USMNT do not resume competitive action until March. Meanwhile, U.S. Soccer will pocket $10 million from United for triggering Pochettino’s release clause, with that figure potentially rising substantially should the club also prise away his staff members, such as Jesús Pérez and his son, Sebastiano Pochettino. That cash could be capital toward a new manager.

And whereas Pochettino joined more than halfway into the USMNT's 2026 World Cup cycle, the new manager will still have nearly the entirety of the 2030 cycle to work with the team.

The USMNT as a whole will weather this storm; however, one thing is for certain: There are a number of players who stand to lose from his departure. In turn, there are also plenty who stand to gain.

Winners

Joe Scally

Joe Scally has let his hair down and taken the handbrake off his game. After notching just four goals and nine assists across his first seven professional seasons, Scally has already matched that goals output and added two assists in 10 appearances this season. He has emerged as a breath of fresh air for last placed Borussia Mönchengladbach.

He is quickly becoming one of the top attacking fullbacks in Germany, but it seems that his performances have fallen on deaf ears. After making two minor appearances at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Scally has since missed out on back-to-back USMNT call ups under Pochettino this fall.

While it’s going to be difficult for Scally to oust Champions League stars Alex Freeman and Sergiño Dest, it speaks to Pochettino’s dissatisfaction with the 23-year-old that he’d rather trial players he is completely unfamiliar with, like Frankie Westfield, Bryan Reynolds and Reed Baker-Whiting. A new manager might be just what Scally needs to get back into the USMNT squad.

Timothy Weah

After breaking onto the scene in the wake of the USMNT’s failed 2018 World Cup qualification, Timothy Weah quickly emerged as a key figure under former manager Gregg Berhalter and started all four matches in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Nevertheless, he hasn’t quite seen eye-to-eye with Pochettino. When Weah complained about the exorbitant ticket prices at the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino publicly rebuked him, stating 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 starting in the dead rubber against Türkiye; however, he never quite found his confidence under Pochettino.

“I’m disappointed in myself,” he lamented 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 disappointing World Cup display, Weah has bounced back with club side Marseille. He has worn the captain’s armband and dominated from the right back position, leading the French club to four wins on the bounce. It still hasn’t been enough to convince Pochettino that he deserves a second chance, with the 53-cap international being left out of the first two USMNT squads of the 2026–27 season. He could benefit tremendously from Pochettino returning to England.

Aidan Morris

Aidan Morris started in the first two matches of the Pochettino era before suffering a knee injury and spending a year out of the picture. He returned in the autumn of 2025, playing in all four friendlies before starting against Portugal in the final match before Pochettino announced his World Cup squad.

Unfortunately for him, Morris was one of the last players to miss out on the coveted tournament roster and then missed out on the first two call-ups of the new campaign. He clearly hasn’t let Pochettino’s repeated snubs affect his form, with the American emerging as a central figure in Middlesbrough’s midfield. Even after being snubbed from the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals squad, he still delivered a Man of the Match display at Watford on Saturday.

Out of Morris’s 14 USMNT caps, only two have come in competitive matches (during the 2023 Gold Cup). That hasn’t changed under Pochettino, but it could under a new manager ... especially if Boro keep up their promotion chase.

Losers

Matt Freese

When Pochettino first took charge, Matt Freese had never been included in a USMNT squad. Since his appointment, though, Freese has usurped Matt Turner in the starting goalkeeper position, starting in 20 of their last 27 matches and competing in the 2025 Gold Cup and home World Cup.

But following a lackluster global display this summer, the 28-year-old has continually failed to cover himself in glory. Pochettino gave him just one appearance in the previous window, while experimenting more heavily with young goalkeepers Diego Kochen, Brian Schwake and Chris Brady, suggesting a impending move away from the 28-year-old.

While Freese has been the starter for the vast majority of Pochettino’s tenure (and even got a November call up), his struggles in possession continue to undermine the team, none more prominently than his calamitous error against Belgium in the World Cup round of 16. With Pochettino no longer in charge, there's every reason to believe that his starting position 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 until he returned to the Argentine’s squad, though, before playing in all 13 of the USMNT’s matches in 2026, including all five World Cup games.

Pochettino has been Reyna’s personal champion all year long, seeing in him a “very special talent,” despite riding the bench at Mönchengladbach in the lead up to the summer’s showpiece event.

But since leaving Germany for France, Reyna has proven Pochettino right, getting off to a blistering start at new club side 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 match against Toulouse before suffering a thigh injury that forced him to withdraw from the November camp. For Reyna, it could not have possibly come at a worse time, especially with Pochettino departing. It’s unclear if the next USMNT manager will have the same deep affinity for Reyna that Pochettino has. The new manager may very well decide that Reyna’s fitness concerns aren’t worth taking a chance on him.

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