Mauricio Pochettino’s Stars and Stripes got off to a flying start at the 2026 World Cup. Opening the tournament on home soil at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, California, co-hosts United States pulled off a 4-1 win over Paraguay. The USMNT got off to an emphatic start to their World Cup campaign as they cruised past Paraguay with a 4-1 victoryGettyAn own goal, two goals from star striker Folarin Balogun – who received a 9/10 in talkSPORT’s player ratings – and a neat stoppage time trivela finish from Giovanni Reyna ensured that the USMNT put all three points on the board in Group D. It was a stunning performance across the board, and marked the first time ever that the USMNT put four goals past an opponent in a single game at a World Cup. Put simply, Pochettino has given USMNT fans a reason to dream.But his tenure looks almost certain to come to a close following the USA’s tournament campaign, no matter how far they go. This comes as the former Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea coach’s lucrative two-year, $6 million per year contract signed back in September 2024 is set to expire in August. It looks unlikely that he will extend that contract, with reports surfacing back in May that stated that he had already held talks with AC Milan over the possibility of going to Serie A and reuniting with U.S. Soccer star Christian Pulisic. Eyes on the prize before looking ahead to his futureThis news doesn’t come as a surprise to former USMNT goalkeeper Tony Meola, though. “I said when Mauricio Pochettino got hired somewhere shortly after, I never saw Mauricio Pochettino being here after the World Cup,” Meola said to Ben Jacobs, USMNT correspondent for talkSPORT.“Because the way I look at it is if he has a great World Cup, which we’re all hoping, what’s the reason to stay? Are you going to go one step further 4 years from now?“And if they have a terrible World Cup, we’re all going to kick him out anyway, right? Tony Meola doesn’t blame Pochettino for exploring options for his futureGettyPochettino oversaw one of the USMNT’s greatest World Cup performances despite reports he is deciding his future after the tournament endsGettyBut Meola is of the belief that speaking with other clubs when holding a role elsewhere is just a natural cycle of being a soccer coach. “It’s kind of like the story of footballing managers, right? That’s where they’re at,” he continued. “The fact that he spoke to Milan – I’m going to take a wild guess that Milan’s not the only club he has spoken to since he’s been the manager of the national team. “This is what the game is, right? Your agents are always talking. So I wasn’t one of those guys that took offence to the fact that he was talking to other teams, and I thought he was doing it the entire time, if I’m being completely honest.“Maybe the timing someone could say, oh, ‘it’s going to distract you’. I’ve seen Mauricio Pochettino‘s interviews. He looks pretty focused on what’s about to happen here in the next 6 weeks.”While Pochettino has been linked with a move to Milan, so has exiled Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim, according to recent reports. For now, though, it’s all focus on the World Cup campaignGettyOliver Glasner, who departed Premier League club Crystal Palace shortly after leading his team – which featured USMNT defender Chris Richards – to UEFA Conference League triumph is also rumored to be on the shortlist for the vacancy following the firing of Massimiliano Allegri at the end of May. As for Pochettino, any talks of his future are currently on hold with steering the USMNT to World Cup glory currently the main focus. Next up for the USA is a trip to Seattle on Friday where they will take on Australia in the second group stage outing. They will then meet Turkiye back in Los Angeles on June 26. Stay up to date on all things World Cup across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.All 104 games at the 2026 World Cup this summer will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.