USMNT’s Christian Pulisic on potential Mauricio Pochettino hire: ‘It’s time for a change’

U.S. men’s national team star Christian Pulisic became the latest player to publicly back Mauricio Pochettino, who has reportedly agreed to become the national team’s new head coach ahead of the 2026 World Cup on home soil.

“I think it’s good news,” Pulisic told CBS ahead of AC Milan’s 2-1 loss at Parma on Saturday. “I think it’s time for a change. It’s time for us to take another step and really improve as a team and leading up to this World Cup, we need to find some good results and build some momentum leading up to that moment.”

Pulisic is the latest USMNT player to support the potential hire. Club and country teammate Yunus Musah telling CBS Sports Golazo Network‘s Morning Footy on Thursday that Pochettino will “be able to help a lot,” while days earlier, Antonee Robinson told NBC that the incoming manager has “two years to get the best out of” the group.

The disappointment of this summer’s Copa America still looms large for the USMNT, who hoped for a statement-making run at the expanded version of the South American championship but instead crashed out in the group stages. U.S. Soccer soon fired then-head coach Gregg Berhalter and aspired to land a high-profile successor with eyes on the 2026 World Cup, and are set to do just that with Pochettino, who has years of experience in the Premier League and Ligue 1.

U.S. Soccer still aims to have Pochettino and his staff in place for the USMNT’s next game, a friendly against Canada on Sept. 7 in Kansas City, but a deal has yet to be signed. Pochettino still has to agree to a severance package with his former team Chelsea, per The Athletic, a job he suddenly left in May just a year into his two-year deal.

While Pochettino’s appointment could shake up the USMNT’s player pool, Pulisic is expected to remain the team’s focal point. Despite the USA’s early Copa America exit, the captain was one of the team’s standout players with a goal and an assist in three games and continues to be in strong form for his club. Pulisic scored his first goal of the 2024-25 campaign on Saturday in AC Milan’s 2-1 loss to Parma, building off his impressive season last campaign with 16 goals and 10 assists.

Ahead of Saturday’s game, Pulisic earned high praise from Milan legend Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is now a special advisor to the club.

“For me, Christian did his best season, last year, in his whole career,” Ibrahmivoc told CBS. “He came on double numbers with goals and assists and he had an amazing season. Unfortunately, didn’t win a trophy but this season, we will change that and you can see he’s happy. When somebody is happy outside the field, he is also happy inside the field and we give him the space he needs and the happiness and then it’s up to him, and last year, he was phenomenal so we just have to continue and grow from it.”

Pulisic is expected to again play a big role for Milan as they aim to improve upon last season’s second-place finish in Serie A, hiring attack-minded coach Paulo Fonseca over the summer to lead the effort. The USMNT captain started both of Milan’s opening games, though the team is winless so far to start the season.