Balogun and Berhalter pay tribute to Pochettino as Manchester United move edges closer

Folarin Balogun and Sebastian Berhalter offered heartfelt tributes to Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday as the USMNT coach’s move to Manchester United appeared increasingly inevitable, following the Old Trafford club’s dismissal of Michael Carrick earlier that day.

Neither player had yet heard directly from Pochettino about his plans when they spoke to media at U.S. Soccer’s training center ahead of the team’s two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti. But both made clear they understood what was coming — and what it would mean.

“I can’t thank him enough,” said Berhalter, whose father Gregg held the USMNT job before Pochettino took over roughly two years ago. The younger Berhalter had not played a single minute of international football at that point. A series of standout performances for the Vancouver Whitecaps earned him a call-up for the 2025 Gold Cup, and Pochettino went on to play him in all five matches at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, where the 25-year-old scored in the group-stage finale against Türkiye. “He’s meant so much to me and helped me develop as a player and as a person.”

Balogun, who led the United States with three goals in four World Cup appearances — including winners against Paraguay and Bosnia and Herzegovina — was equally effusive about Pochettino’s broader influence on the programme.

“Poch has definitely raised the standard since he’s been in charge,” the striker said. “The intensity of training, how we approach games — he’s changed our way of thinking as players. He’s laid the foundation. I think we have the ownership as players to carry that on.”

Berhalter echoed the sentiment, crediting Pochettino with deepening the squad’s sense of national identity. “Even though he’s an Argentinian coach, he made us even more proud to be American. And I think that speaks volumes of who he is as a person and as a coach.”

Despite that pride, Balogun was candid about his preference. “If I had a vote, I would like to keep things the way they are,” he said. “Things have been working well. We have a clear sense of identity, a clear playing style, and whenever you have a top coach, you’d want them to stay. It’s a no-brainer.”

With Pochettino’s departure not yet confirmed officially, attention is already turning to his successor. Pep Guardiola has been floated as an ideal candidate, though his appetite for a new role just months after leaving Manchester City is uncertain. Balogun, for his part, expressed confidence that U.S. Soccer would find a worthy replacement. “I’m sure,” he said, “that the U.S. will look to replace him with another good coach.”