US players await word on whether Mauricio Pochettino will become their coach

KANSAS CITY, Kan. — U.S. players awaited word on whether Mauricio Pochettino was being hired as the American men's soccer coach, uncertain as they prepared for friendlies against Canada and New Zealand.

All 24 players on the roster trained Tuesday under interim coach Mikey Varas, a Gregg Berhalter assistant who will lead the team for the two matches. The U.S. Soccer Federation began negotiations with Pochettino three weeks ago and has not commented publicly on the search.

“We know as much as everybody else,” defender Tim Ream said. “We were updated a few weeks ago that the search was moving in a positive direction, and at this point that’s where everybody is at. We feel and have been told that when something happens we will know and everybody else will know pretty quickly after. So we are updated, but we have not been told anything is final up to this point."

Berhalter was fired on July 10, a week after the Americans were eliminated in the first round of the Copa America. The new coach will have 21 months to prepare for the 2026 World Cup, which the U.S. will co-host with Canada and Mexico.

Ream is familiar with Pochettino from their time in the Premier League, where the 36-year-old defender played for Fulham against Tottenham and Chelsea teams coached by the Argentine.

“His teams are always difficult to play against,” Ream said. “Obviously he’s a high-quality, high-level manager. They were teams that were really well organized and really strong in the attacking sense.”

Pochettino would become the U.S.'s 10th coach in a 14-year span, including four interim heads and Berhalter for two separate terms. Players try to quickly adjust when a new coach arrives.

“You kind of lift the intensity and lift the focus and you put a little bit more into it,” Ream said. “But at the same time you do have to understand that you have to play your own game and do what has gotten you to that point while also adjusting and adapting to a new voice.”

The U.S. plays Canada on Saturday at Kansas City, Kansas, then faces New Zealand three days later at Cincinnati. The Americans have another pair of friendlies next month, against Panama on Oct. 12 at Austin, Texas, and Mexico three days later in Guadalajara.

“After the Copa ended, there was a mutual feeling within the dressing room of disappointment, but we knew we had to put it to rest.” forward Folarin Balogun said. “We want to make a statement and remind people what we’re about.”