MIAMI -- U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino walked into Nu Stadium at ease, taking in the pro-Haiti atmosphere. He quietly celebrated each USMNT goal in Saturday's 6-0 victory over Haiti in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal with his coaching staff and bench, applauding every effort. And once the final whistle blew, Pochettino made his way onto the pitch to embrace every player wearing the stars and stripes.
He watched fondly from the sidelines as players applauded the traveling fans behind the goal, knowing it would be one of his final times doing so.
Manchester United announced Pochettino as their new manager on Friday, ending his 26-month tenure with the U.S. men's national team after Tuesday's return leg. The Argentine coach will leave knowing he accomplished his goal: to shift the mentality within U.S. Soccer.
Tears filled his eyes as his voice cracked when talking about what he leaves behind.
"It means a lot," Pochettino said in the postmatch news conference. "But more than victories, it's the love of the players, the people, the staff. I think that, of all the members of the federation, that love what we've been in the last few days is something that will help us [in the next chapter]."
Now, it's up to the players to uphold his legacy.
"Poch has definitely raised the standard since he's been in charge," striker Folarin Balogun said on Thursday. "I think he's laid the foundation, and I think us as players have that ownership to not just do that because Poch was in charge. I think we have the ownership as players to carry that out because we know the standards."
Players demonstrated on Saturday that Pochettino's impact will last well beyond his time at the helm. The 6-0 win marks the largest margin of victory of his tenure as coach, and his team could've scored more.
"We played for him," defender Auston Trusty said after the game. "Obviously, he's our gaffer. Obviously, it's sad that he's moving on. Obviously, it's a great opportunity that he is moving on into, but we play for him. It's his team. It's his identity. And the mindset is to win every single game, every single match. And no matter how many goals you're up, you keep fighting, you keep putting on the score and just do your thing, play our game."
U.S. Soccer hired Pochettino to revolutionize the men's national team; the federation and its benefactors spent millions to bring in a manager with an elite European résumé to realize the potential in a roster that felt stagnant under previous leadership.
His experience in the Premier League, Ligue 1 and the UEFA Champions League more than prepared him for the grit of international football, and his accomplishments at the game's highest level gave him enough credibility for players to buy into the project.
Pochettino began by rewiring the way players approached each camp. He instilled a culture of accountability that seeped into training sessions, their mentality and strategy for every match, friendly or official.
"Whether it's 11-vs.-11, a small-sided game, yeah, I'm going to get stuck in ... I want to win this tackle, I want to win this duel," defender Mark McKenzie told ESPN earlier this year. "So, there's ways to go about it without harming each other, but you want to have that competitive nature, competitive edge in training, because that's the way we want to play the game."
Pochettino eliminated complacency by seeking new faces to deepen the roster and heighten competition. Players quickly learned that a starting spot was never guaranteed, no matter how much previous experience a veteran boasted.
Twenty-nine players earned their first cap under the Argentine coach. During the September/October international window, Pochettino handed debuts to 11 players under the age of 21.
Before Pochettino's tenure, Sebastian Berhalter never received playing time with the USMNT. But a string of stellar performances with the Vancouver Whitecaps earned the him a debut in June 2025 against Switzerland, and his willingness to buy into Pochettino's mentality earned him a starring role.
Berhalter became one of the leading midfielders for the USMNT at the 2026 World Cup, featuring in every match, and he continued to prove himself against Haiti.
The Middlesbrough midfielder inspired the first goal of the night, perfectly placing a free kick to Trusty inside the box. Dead balls were previously the domain of Christian Pulisic, and occasionally Malik Tillman, but Berhalter has commanded that responsibility with the effectiveness of his deliveries. He now leads the USMNT with seven goal contributions in 2026, recording three goals and four assists in 14 appearances.
"He's meant so much to me, and he's helped me develop as a player and as a person," Berhalter said of Pochettino on Thursday. "And as a player, that's all you can ask for, to have that trust and have that belief in you. And for me, it's easy to go out there and just do my job. So yeah, he's meant a big deal to me for sure."
Julian Hall, given his debut by Pochettino in September, has the potential to be similarly revelatory now he is cap-tied to the country after playing his first competitive game. The 18-year-old delivered a left-footed strike to give him four goals in his five appearances with the United States.
Hall was later involved in the team's third goal, neatly working the ball to Pulisic inside the Haiti box via a backheel, positioning the AC Milan star to earn a penalty. The Red Bull New York striker left the field at the 66-minute mark with one goal and three shots on target.
If it were up to the players, Pochettino would stay. But now U.S. Soccer has big shoes to fill.
The federation announced that under-23 manager Steve Cherundolo will take over senior-team responsibilities for the upcoming December camp as the search for a permanent replacement begins. Officials will have a lot to consider when choosing the next candidate, but in the past two years, players have provided insight into the qualities U.S. Soccer must seek.
The roster responded to an experienced coach from Europe's top competitions, often emphasizing the importance of Pochettino's résumé.
"I mean, the credibility, the résumé speaks for itself," midfielder Tyler Adams told Yahoo Sports. "It goes to show for us how lucky we are to be able to work under a manager of his quality and the person he is."
This iteration of the USMNT has more individuals playing in Europe's top competitions than ever before, learning from and facing the sport's greatest competitors. Eleven USMNT players participated in the 2025-26 edition of the Champions League, representing teams such as AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven and Juventus.
Five of the eight USMNT managers since Italia '90 have been domestic, and U.S. Soccer might go back to that well in considering Cherundolo or former interim manager B.J. Callaghan. But this version of the USMNT clearly responded to such an accomplished talent in the dugout, and that could make for an even stronger case for the federation to consider the likes of ex-Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola or former France boss Didier Deschamps.
Given the quality of the core of this team and the potential of the promising prospects breaking through under Pochettino, getting this appointment right is paramount for the USMNT.
Pochettino's tenure confirmed that the program can shine under big-name, international leadership. Now, U.S. Soccer must weigh the cost of bringing in another sought-after, world-renowned coach after seeing the impact that the Argentine had on this group of players.