Sports
U.S. Soccer finally closes deal, hires Mauricio Pochettino to lead men's national team
U.S. Soccer finally got its man Tuesday, announcing it has hired Mauricio Pochettino to coach the men’s national team.
Pochettino, a former player who grew up in Argentina and most recently coached Chelsea in the English Premier League, reportedly reached an agreement weeks ago to coach the U.S. men through the 2026 World Cup. But the deal couldn’t be closed until the final details of his departure from Chelsea last May were cleaned up.
With those issues resolved, he will be formally introduced as the team’s new coach at a news conference Friday morning in New York and will manage the U.S. for the first time in next month’s friendlies with Panama in Austin, Texas, and Mexico in Guadalajara. Mikey Varas, who formerly coached the U.S. under-20 team, managed the senior national team in this month’s games with Canada and New Zealand.
“The decision to join U.S. Soccer wasn ‘t just about football for me,” Pochettino said in a statement. “It’s about the journey that this team and this country are on. The energy, the passion and the hunger to achieve something truly historic here, those are the things that inspired me.
“I see a group of players full of talent and potential and together we’re going to build something special that the whole nation can be proud of.”
Financial terms of the deal were not released, but a U.S. Soccer spokesperson confirmed it is a multi-year contract that runs through the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada. The U.S. will play two of its three group-stage games at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
Pochettino, 52, guided Tottenham to a Champions League final and won a Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain but he has never coached a national team. He will be tasked with righting a U.S. squad that grew stagnant under former coach Gregg Berhalter, bowing out of this summer’s Copa América in the group stage, the first time the U.S. has been eliminated in the first round of an international tournament it was hosting.
The USMNT went into Tuesday night’s game with New Zealand having lost three straight games in the same year for the first time since 2007. U.S. Soccer president Cindy Parlow Cone said Tuesday she’s confident Pochettino can turn that around.
Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino arrives at the stadium prior to a Premier League match against AFC Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on May 19 in London.
(Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
“Mauricio is a world-class coach with a proven track record of developing players and achieving success at the highest level,” said Cone, a World Cup winner as a player. “His passion for the game, his innovative approach to coaching and his ability to inspire and connect with players make him the perfect fit for this role.”
While the Americans were criticized for conservative, risk-averse play under Berhalter, who was sacked in July, Pochettino is known for a high-pressing, attacking style of play. His teams are encouraged to pressure opponents and that style has produced results in three of Europe’s top five leagues.
A center back, Pochettino signed his first contract with Newell’s Old Boys at age 17 and played in nearly 500 matches in Argentina, Spain and France. He also made 20 appearances for Argentina’s national team before retiring as a player in 2006 and beginning his coaching career with Spanish club Espanyol three years later.
He went on to manage at Southampton, Tottenham and PSG before landing at Chelsea, signing a two-year contract before the 2023-24 season. But he was sacked two days after a season in which Chelsea finished sixth, leaving the coach and the club, chaired by Dodgers’ part-owner Todd Boehly, to sort out the terms of Pochettino’s separation from Chelsea, which was reportedly paying him an annual salary of $13.2 million.
JT Batson, U.S. Soccer’s chief executive officer, was said to be instrumental in helping the two sides cut through that while also negotiating a contract with Pochettino that is reportedly the largest in the federation’s history. Berhalter earned $2,291,136 in 2022, including $900,000 in bonuses.
“Hiring Mauricio is a step forward in our mission to compete at the highest level and make a lasting mark on the global soccer landscape,” Batson said. “Mauricio understands the unique potential of this team and this country and he shares our belief that U.S. Soccer is on the cusp of something truly special.”
Chelsea coach Mauricio Pochettino spreads his arms and reacts incredulously during an FA Cup semifinal against Manchester City Wembley Stadium in London on April 20.
(Alastair Grant / Associated Press)
U.S. Soccer sporting director Matt Crocker, who led the search for Berhalter’s replacement after firing the coach in early July, overlapped briefly with Pochettino at Southampton, where Crocker served as academy director.
Pochettino is one of the highest-profile names to lead the national team and is just the second foreign-born U.S. manager since Boris Milutinov in 1995.
“Mauricio is a serial winner with a deep passion for player development and a proven ability to build cohesive and competition teams,” Crocker said of the coach, who is fluent in English, Spanish and French. “His track record speaks for itself.”
Berhalter, a former U.S. Soccer and Galaxy player under Bruce Arena, was hired in December 2018, 14 months after the U.S., under Arena, failed to qualify for a World Cup for the first time in 32 years. He led the team to a Gold Cup championship, two CONCACAF Nations League titles and to the round of 16 in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. With a record of 44-17-13, he left with the best winning percentage of any coach who worked more than seven matches with the national team.
But he was undone by the team’s poor performance in the Copa América, which the U.S. exited in the group stage after losing to Panama and Uruguay.
“After the Copa América ended, there was a mutual feeling within the dressing room of disappointment,” forward Folarin Balogun told ESPN last week. “But we knew that we had to put it to rest, we had to go away, reflect and come back for this camp.”
Only Arena (81) and Jurgen Klinsmann (55) won more games with the U.S. than Berhalter, who survived an earlier challenge to his job after former teammate Claudio Reyna and his wife, Danielle, upset over Berhalter’s treatment of their son Gio during the 2022 World Cup, informed U.S. Soccer of an alleged 30-year-old physical confrontation between Berhalter and the woman who would become his wife.
The federation launched a months-long investigation into the incident before clearing Berhalter in the spring of 2023. Crocker then rehired him 13 months ago for the current World Cup cycle.
U.S. Soccer decided to offer Berhalter a new contract based on his performance and positive relationships with most players but his second stay lasted less than a year.
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Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo made NBA history on Tuesday night.
Adebayo scored 83 points, all while setting league marks for free throws made and attempted in a game for the Miami Heat in a 150-129 win over the Washington Wizards. It is the second-highest scoring game for a player ever, only to Wilt Chamberlain’s famed 100-point game.
“An absolutely surreal night,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra told reporters after the game.
Adebayo started with a 31-point first quarter. He was up to 43 at halftime, 62 by the end of the third quarter. And then came the fourth, when the milestones kept falling despite facing double-, triple- and what once appeared to be a quadruple-team from a Wizards defense that kept sending him to the foul line.
He finished 20 of 43 from the field, 36 of 43 from the foul line, 7 for 22 from 3-point range.
After the game, he was seen in tears while he hugged his mother, Marilyn Blount, before leaving the floor after the game.
“Welp won’t have the highest career high in the house anymore,” Adebayo’s girlfriend, four-time WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson, wrote on social media, “but at least it gives me something to go after.”
MAGIC’S ANTHONY BLACK MAKES INCREDIBLE DUNK OVER FOUR DEFENDERS IN HISTORIC NBA GAME
Bam Adebayo #13 of the Miami Heat celebrates during the fourth quarter of the game against the Washington Wizards at Kaseya Center on March 10, 2026, in Miami, Florida. (Megan Briggs/Getty Images)
The NBA’s previous best this season was 56, by Nikola Jokic for Denver against Minnesota on Christmas night. The last player to have 62 points through three quarters: one of Adebayo’s basketball heroes, Kobe Bryant, who had exactly that many through three quarters for the Los Angeles Lakers against Dallas on Dec. 20, 2005.
He wound up passing Bryant for single-game scoring as well. Bryant’s career-best was 81 — a game that was the second-best on the NBA scoring list for two decades.
Adebayo scored 31 points in the opening quarter against the Wizards, breaking the Heat record for points in any quarter — and tying the team record for points in a first half before the second quarter even started.
He finished the first half with 43 points, a team record for any half and two points better than his previous career high — for a full game, that is — of 41, set Jan. 23, 2021, against Brooklyn.
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Adebayo’s season high entering Tuesday was 32. He matched that with a free throw with 5:53 left in the second quarter, breaking the Heat first-half scoring record.
Adebayo’s 43-point first half was the NBA’s second-best in at least the last 30 seasons — going back to the start of the digital play-by-play era that began in the 1996-97 season.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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BOSTON — Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime and Jeremy Swayman stopped 14 shots on Tuesday night to earn the Boston Bruins their 13th straight victory at home, 2-1 over the Kings.
Mason Lohrei scored midway through the third period to break a scoreless tie. But the Kings tied it five minutes later when Drew Doughty’s shot from the blue line deflected off the heel of Bruins forward Elias Lindholm and into the net.
It was the seventh straight time the teams had gone to overtime in Boston.
In the overtime, Mark Kastelic blocked a shot in the defensive zone and made a long pass to David Pastrnak, who waited for McAvoy to come into the zone. The Bruins’ defenseman and U.S. Olympian, who went to the locker room at the end of the second period after taking a puck off his mouth, skated in on Darcy Kuemper and went to his backhand for the winner.
Kuemper stopped 21 shots for the Kings, who entered the night one point out of the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The victory kept Boston in possession of the East’s second wild-card spot.
Swayman tied his career high with his 25th win of the season. The Bruins haven’t lost at the TD Garden since before Christmas.
After the game, Kings forward and future Hall of Famer Anze Kopitar stayed on the ice to shake hands with the Bruins after what is expected to be his last game in Boston.
Sports
Jon Jones requests UFC release after Dana White says legend was ‘never’ considered him for White House card
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Mixed martial arts legend Jon Jones ended his retirement from UFC simply because he wanted a spot on the “Freedom 250” fight card at the White House in June.
But, when UFC CEO Dana White announced the card during UFC 326 this past weekend, Jones wasn’t among the fighters. As a result, he has requested a release from his UFC contract.
White was candid when asked about Jones following the UFC 326 card.
Jon Jones of the United States of America reacts after his TKO victory against Stipe Miocic of the United States of America in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 16, 2024 in New York City. ((Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images))
“Never, ever, ever, which I told you guys a hundred thousands times, was Jon Jones ever even remotely in my mind to fight at the White House,” White explained, per CBS Sports. “Some guy with Meta Glasses filmed him talking about his hips – that his hips are so bad. And I don’t know if you guys saw that flag football game where he can barely run. Jon Jones retired because of his hips. He’s got arthritis in his hips. Apparently, doctors say he should have a hip replacement.”
White added that “the Jon Jones thing is bulls—,” saying that he texted the fighter’s lawyer saying he would never be on the White House card despite Jones saying he was in negotiations for it.
UFC ANNOUNCES CARD FOR WHITE HOUSE EVENT
The Meta Glasses incident White is referring to came from a viral video, where Jones, unaware he was being filmed, discussed issues with his hips to a fan.
On Monday, Jones composed a thorough response to White’s comments about him and the White House Card. He previously posted and deleted social media explanations, but Monday’s appeared to be his final statement on the matter.
UFC President Dana White speaks after UFC Fight Night at Toyota Center on Feb. 21, 2026. (Troy Taormina/Imagn Images)
“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s painful, but that doesn’t mean I can’t fight,” Jones, who retired a heavyweight champion in 2025, said. “So let me get this straight, if I had accepted the lowball offer, suddenly my hip would be fine and I’d be on the White House card? That doesn’t make sense. I even received stem cell treatment last week to get ready for the White House card, and training camp was scheduled to start today. I was preparing to be ready.
“I understand business deals fall through sometimes, but going out publicly and saying things that aren’t true isn’t right. After everything I’ve given to the UFC, the years, the title defenses, the fights, hearing that I’m ‘done’ is disappointing. Especially when as recently as Friday UFC was calling me trying to get me on that White House card for a much lower number.”
Jones finished his statement by saying he “respectfully” asks to be released from his UFC contract.
Jon Jones enters the ring before facing Stipe Miocic in the UFC heavyweight championship fight during the UFC 309 event at Madison Square Garden on November 16, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Chris Unger/Zuffa LLC)
“No more spins, no more games. Thank you to the real fans who know what’s up,” he wrote.
The UFC did not immediately respond to a request for comment by Fox News Digital.
Jones is considered one of the best UFC fighters of all time, owning a 28-1-1 record, which includes his last bout with Stipe Miocic, knocking him out to take the heavyweight title belt. He is also a two-time light heavyweight champion.
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