Mauricio Pochettino Reflects on USA's World Cup Journey and Future Ambitions

Mauricio Pochettino walks into the room like a man who has finally taken a breath. Hugs, jokes, holiday stories. The usual warmth. Only his summer has not been usual at all.

He has just taken the USA to the last 16 of a home World Cup, watched their dream shatter against Belgium, navigated presidential politics, a FIFA storm, a Balogun saga and, somewhere in the middle of it all, become an unlikely fashion reference point. Then, with the dust barely settled, he signed on for four more years with the United States.

For a coach who once lived every heartbeat of the Premier League, this is a very different chapter. He is embracing it.

‘We are much better coaches now’

Ask Pochettino what he takes from the World Cup and the answer comes quickly.

"We are much better coaches now," he says, and you can tell he means it. The tournament has sharpened him. It has reminded him how brutal elite football can be, and how unforgiving the margins are when a group comes together only in short bursts.

He talks about details. The smallest ones. About how every decision feels magnified when you do not have the rhythm of club football to lean on. About the strain of translating a complex football idea to a squad that spends weeks together, not years.

"Everything needs to be perfect," he says. That is the standard he set for himself and his staff, including long-time assistant Jesus Perez. The World Cup did not just test his team; it reinforced his own appetite to evolve.

Of course, this was no ordinary World Cup job. This was a home tournament, for a country whose President rarely misses a camera.

Trump, politics and the Balogun storm

There is a pause when the conversation turns to Donald Trump. Pochettino is careful, respectful, keen to highlight the support and backing the President gave the team. But the noise around the squad was deafening at times.

The flashpoint came around Folarin Balogun. The forward’s suspension was suspended by FIFA on the eve of the Belgium game, a decision that triggered anger and accusations of manipulation. Pochettino admits the "politics and manipulation" overshadowed that tie, even if he insists his own role was simple.

"If you pay attention to the noise, you become crazy," he says. When the letter arrived from FIFA confirming Balogun could play, the decision was, in his words, "straightforward."

Balogun has not been far from the headlines since. His proposed move from Monaco to Everton collapsed late on Deadline Day, leaving the striker in limbo. Pochettino has chosen not to call him yet.

He wants to give him space. He knows the disappointment of a move falling through. He would have liked to see Balogun in the Premier League; instead, the forward stays in Monaco. Pochettino simply hopes he can reset and find a good place again.

The touchline suit and a viral summer

If the football was intense, the sideshow was pure theatre. Pochettino has always dressed with care, but even he could not have predicted the reaction to his navy touchline ensemble.

It became a talking point of its own. Social media, style pages, endless clips. Then Wayne Rooney went out and bought it.

"I saw him. He looked good on him, like a top coach," Pochettino laughs. It was that kind of summer: World Cup pressure, presidential politics, FIFA letters, and a manager’s outfit going viral.

Then the carousel of rumours began to spin. Club jobs opened up. His name was thrown into the mix. AC Milan, others. But the speculation died quickly when the announcement came: Pochettino had committed to the USA until 2030.

Four more years in the USA – but England still calls

Six years away from club football would be a long time for any coach, never mind one who once lived at the sharp end of the Premier League title race. So is that it? Is his story in English football over?

He shakes his head.

"I have the ambition," he says. "My dream now is to be in the USA for four years, but after that, why not? We are still young, and I think coming back is always my goal; to win the Premier League, to be in the Premier League and to build a project with the possibility of winning."

He is clear: he loves English football, the intensity, the culture, the fight for honours.

"I love the football here. I think to have the chance again is one of my wishes and I hope that happens."

The door, in his mind, is very much open.

The Spurs question that never goes away

With Pochettino, the conversation always seems to circle back to Tottenham. It has to. He took them to a Champions League final, pushed for the title, and did it all while spending far less than today’s contenders.

Eighteen months ago, he spoke openly about wanting to return to Spurs one day. Since then, the club have lurched through more turbulence. Ange Postecoglou came and went. Thomas Frank and Igor Tudor followed and departed as the team flirted dangerously with the drop.

So, did that rescue call ever really come?

"Always I say, one day, why not?" he replies when asked about a return. It is his stock line, but it still carries weight.

Pressed on whether it was a genuine possibility this time, he is blunt: "People talk and maybe we receive some approach, but it never was close." Not this time, then.

What about those other jobs? AC Milan were strongly linked at one point. He admits there was interest, but not much more.

"We were not open during the World Cup to talk with different clubs that were interested," he says. Were there clubs? "Yes, always," he answers, as if it is simply part of the job. "Yes, always have different, you know, options."

Did any of them tempt him?

"We never gave the opportunity to be close. We always closed the door before it got close."

His focus, he insists, stayed with the USA.

Spurs, Chelsea and a new Premier League arms race

Talk turns to his old clubs. Tottenham first. It never is dull there, and Pochettino knows that better than most.

"They are investing like other clubs," he says. Spurs have shifted strategy, throwing big money at players who already know the Premier League. Proven operators instead of long-term projects.

You cannot help but think back to his era, when he pushed for titles and a European crown on a fraction of the current outlay. What would he have done with £300m to spend? He grins, feigns innocence, and jokes that he cannot even imagine what £300m looks like.

Will this new approach work?

"You never know," he replies. "We need time to see if that works or not.

"Like in all the games, when you make a decision like a coach that can work well or not. I think it's a different strategy and a different way to operate. I always wish the best for Tottenham because it's in my heart."

Chelsea have also changed course since his time there. The role he held two years ago has been rebranded from head coach to manager, and the transfer policy has swung towards buying Premier League-ready players under Xabi Alonso rather than pure potential.

Pochettino does not want to draw direct lines between his spell and the current one, but he recognises the intent.

Buying players already adapted to the league, he says, means "you can expect to fight, to be a contender for the Premier League."

The early signs have not all been smooth. Chelsea’s defeat to Arsenal has already checked some of the early optimism. Pochettino, though, urges patience.

"Of course they are disappointed after the defeat against Arsenal, but I think we need to give time to Xabi's first season after three games in the Premier League," he says.

"I think we need to give time, and of course for Tottenham the same."

Arsenal, Arteta and the current benchmark

If Spurs and Chelsea are still working out who they are, Pochettino is in no doubt about who currently sets the standard.

For him, Arsenal are out in front.

"Mikel [Arteta] is the best coach in the Premier League today," he says. No hesitation. No caveat. He believes Arteta knows exactly what he needs to do, and he expects Arsenal to be brutally hard to stop.

"Knowing what he needs to do, it's going to be tough to beat them."

From a World Cup on home soil to a renewed long-term project with the USA, from old flames in north London and west London to a clear view of the new power in the capital, Pochettino speaks like a man who has stepped back just far enough to see the whole picture.

He is committed to the American project. He is energised by what he has learned. But somewhere beyond 2030, the Premier League still calls to him.

The only real question now is which club will be brave enough to hand him the kind of project he craves – and whether, when that moment comes, he will be ready to walk back into the storm.