Welcome to The Signal, Box Score's Wednesday newsletter. This week, we're looking at the US Men's National Soccer team. Where will the players on the 2030 US World Cup team come from? We did some original research to identify the regions where the next great American soccer player might emerge. Coach Pochettino, give us a call!
After leading the US Men's National Team to the Round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup, Mauricio Pochettino has agreed to coach the USMNT through the 2030 World Cup, which will be primarily played in Spain, Portugal and Morocco.
The terms of the contract were not revealed, but Pochettino was making approximately $6 million per year in the run-up to the 2026 World Cup. His salary, the highest ever for a US coach, was partially funded through a donation by Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, who contributed to Pochettino's new deal as well.
The deal is predicated on the hope that the former Tottenham Hotspur, PSG and Chelsea manager will find a way to elevate US Men's Soccer into a higher tier of national teams. Think Portugal, Morocco, the Netherlands and Belgium, which sent the US home in 2014 and 2026.
Since 1990, only the 2002 US team has advanced as far as the World Cup quarterfinals. With his elite European soccer pedigree, Pochettino is a sign that US Soccer is serious about fielding a team of players who can break through at the 2030 World Cup.
But where will he find them?
Among USMNT players who had their first cap for the US since the 2002 World Cup, more than 70% of them have come from just 10 states or were internationally born.
California is No. 1, which makes sense as it’s the most populous state in the US. But the home state of Landon Donovan and Cobi Jones also ranks high in terms of production index, in other words, how many national team players are from California versus expectations based on the state’s population. New Jersey tops that list, with almost twice as many national team players as expected. Missouri, which ranks 4th in production index, has long been recognized for its vibrant soccer culture. Kansas City had the highest TV viewership ratings for the 2026 World Cup by a wide margin, with 51% of Kansas City area TV sets tuned into the World Cup final. These 10 states are a good place for Pochettino to start looking for his next generation of US soccer talent.
And five of the six biggest USMNT-producing states are also among the top 10 states by Latino population share. The Argentinian Pochettino is the first US Men's National Team coach who is a native Spanish speaker.
California: #2 Latino share → #1 USMNT players
Texas: #3 Latino share → #3 USMNT players
Florida: #6 Latino share → #4 USMNT players
New Jersey: #7 Latino share → #5 USMNT players
New York: #9 Latino share → #2 USMNT players.
Source: Box Score Research/US Census
One thing we know about Pochettino is that he will cast a wide net for talent. He met with more than 70 players in selecting the 2026 World Cup team, and 62 players have earned at least one cap under Pochettino since his first game as US coach in October 2024. He's also been tracking the next generation of American soccer players since this summer's World Cup.
“We're also seeing new talented players starting to appear," Pochettino said in video remarks paired with his contract announcement. "16-, 17-, 18-, and 19-year-olds with the possibility and potential to become important players at the next World Cup. What we're seeing is amazing potential."
The top players on the US Men's National Team at the 2026 World Cup represent the “amazing country with different types of cultures across one big country“ that Pochettino has praised since he arrived on the US touchline. The 2026 US World Cup team included 13 Black players and four Latino players, and six players were born outside the US.
Among the top players on the team, Christian Pulisic is from Pennsylvania, Chris Richards is from Alabama, and Tyler Adams is from New York. However, the other standouts on Pochettino's team are either internationally born or spent some of their formative years overseas. Weston McKennie is from Texas, but he spent part of his childhood in Germany as the son of an Air Force staff sergeant. Malik Tillman grew up in Germany as the son of an American serviceman and holds dual US and German citizenship. Folarin Balogun was born in Brooklyn, but raised in London. Antonee Robinson was born and raised in the UK, but he's eligible to play for the US because his father is a US citizen.
Germany is by far the biggest contributor to the US Men's National Team, with 15 German-born players playing for the US since 2002. England is a distant second with five players. However, Germany's role in US soccer will likely diminish as the US continues to reduce its military presence in Germany. In 2006, the US had 68,700 troops stationed in Germany versus about 36,000 today, with plans in place to reduce those numbers even further.
The international pathway to the US Men's National Team will remain open under Pochettino, though he's not as keen as his predecessors in recruiting eligible international players. He's also been more willing to put MLS players on his national team roster.
"If we really believe that a player can help us and can improve us, of course we are going to be 100 percent involved in that situation," Pochettino said in 2024. "[But] we need to be careful. One player cannot be more important than the team or 300 million people. The player, if he's an American player, needs to be desperate, needs to show that we need him. Because, if not, we are a weak federation."
So Pochettino has a lot of ground to cover before picking his 2030 team, from traditional pipelines like California and New Jersey to players around the globe with roots in the US. The next great American soccer players could literally be anywhere in the world right now, and Pochettino has about three years to find them. The clock is ticking. ⚽
Help Us Spread the Word
If you enjoyed this edition of Box Score, please pass it along to a friend and encourage them to sign up at boxscoresports.com. We’ll see you again on Friday.
