Mauricio Pochettino agrees to become USA head coach, putting him out of England race

Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to become the new head coach of the United States national team, ruling him out of the race to be Gareth Southgate’s permanent successor at England.

Former Chelsea head coach Pochettino is set to be formally appointed by the USA to lead the nation into the 2026 World Cup in America, Canada and Mexico.

It represents a huge coup for the USA and a new challenge for Pochettino, who has never managed an international team before.

Pochettino has been in negotiations with USA technical director Matt Crocker, who he worked with at Southampton, and became the overwhelming choice for the role after Jurgen Klopp made it clear he was not interested in an instant return to coaching.

The news of Pochettino’s intended appointment has been welcomed in America and the fact he is a Spanish speaker is a particularly popular move among the country’s Latino population.

Pochettino had been considered one of the leading candidates to permanently succeed Southgate as England manager, but the Football Association have put Lee Carsley in interim charge for the September Nations League games.

Barring any last-minute hitch, Pochettino will now not be available to the FA should they appoint a permanent manager other than Carsley.

The United States will not have to pay any compensation to Chelsea to appoint Pochettino. The terms of his exit only dictated that a top-six Premier League club would have to pay a £5million fee to appoint him within six months of his Stamford Bridge exit.

It is anticipated that Pochettino will be joined in his USA role by his former Chelsea staff of assistant Jesus Perez, coach Miguel D’Agostino, goalkeeping coach Toni Jiminez and son Sebastiano.

The USA will now have two former Chelsea coaches in charge of their national teams after Emma Hayes took charge of the women’s team and with Pochettino in line to take the men’s job.

Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 3 months with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.