Minutes from the Committee Meeting

July 31, 2026 — Committee Meeting # 49

Agenda Items 📋:

• Soccerwise’s Tom Bogert has the two big stories of the week this week for The Athletic. First, Mauricio Pochettino and U.S. Soccer are finalizing a four year renewal.
• Pochettino will be the fourth head coach in a row for the USMNT to return to the position after coaching their first World Cup. The past three managers (Bradley, Klinsmann, Berhalter) all were fired before reaching their second World Cup.
• U.S. Soccer’s busy week continued dealing with the ongoing (righteous) uproar relating to FIFA President Gianni Infantino’s attempts to sell a minority stake in the World Cup and FIFA to President Trump associates in private equity.
• Concacaf delivered what is likely the fatal blow to Infantino’s plan, rejecting it outright and eliminating almost any path for the measure to gain the votes.
• Tom’s other big report comes from the board meetings around MLS All-Star. MLS owners are reported to be considering a proposal from their product strategy committee to adopt a significant change to the league’s roster rules, including more significant spending.
• This coincides with multiple other major changes for MLS, including a new incoming commissioner and the 2027 schedule change. 
• MLS All-Stars defeated their Liga MX counterparts 4-3
• At NWSL, the boardroom decision of the week comes on the media side, as NWSL became the latest league to cancel their Victory+ broadcast deal after issues with non-payment. 
• NWSL matches that were slated to stream on Victory+ will now be available for free via the NWSL website and app. You won’t be seeing Gotham’s star striker Esther Gonzalez there, however, as she agreed with the clubs for a mutual termination so she could see to personal issues in Spain.
• Rapid fire from the pitch: the U.S. men’s U20 team is on to the knockouts in World Cup qualifying, Gio Reyna is reported to be finalizing a deal with Strasbourg, 17-year-old American Mathis Albert seems poised to make the Borussia Dortmund first team, and Leagues Cup starts next week!

Story of the Week:

It was a newsy week, but we’re going to cover the new Pochettino news with our rapid response takes:

• We’re not betting on four years. For U.S. Soccer, Pochettino is a valuable spokesperson and validator. For Poch, the available jobs post-World Cup weren’t particularly sexy.We don’t know the details, but we’d suspect the outs for both parties are fairly generous. This allows U.S. Soccer to focus on trying to win Copa America (yes, they should try) and worry about a regime change sometime later.
• That probably means Dolo is next. Former LAFC manager Steve Cherundolo was a big get for the Olympics, but now you can potentially see a succession plan evolving.Don’t be surprised if Steve Cherundolo ends up on the bench with Poch’s staff over the next two years, and don’t be surprised if post Copa America and Olympics, if he’s sitting in the manager’s seat.
• Poch needs more support. One thing that was clear about Pochettino’s first cycle was that he’s not hands on. He doesn’t communicate much with the players, and he’s not grinding tape or on the road all the time viewing matches.This means the U.S. has had a significant dip in dual national recruitment success (where Berhalter especially excelled), and seemed slow to integrate new talent.Poch’s staff was seemingly on a bit of an island before the World Cup. For the program to evolve and improve, there needs to be a more proper operation.Sporting Director Matt Crocker departed for Saudi Arabia before the World Cup, and the silence on a replacement indicates a potential new staffing structure. 
• Same strategy, different outcomes? We posted this from our Soccerwise IG account, but we’ll leave you here with this: every single USMNT head coach of the millenium who coached at a World Cup was retained to start a second cycle. The results?
  • Bruce Arena: Grouped in 2006 World Cup.
  • Bob Bradley: Fired before the World Cup.
  • Jurgen Klinsmann: Fired before the World Cup.
  • Gregg Berhalter: Fired before the World Cup.

Matches to Watch:

Vancouver Whitecaps vs. LAFC, MLS (August 1st, 7:30 PM ET, Apple TV): Yeah we know its Cascadia Cup weekend just south of Vancouver, but we just had one of those…so we’re focused on a match that could swing the Western Conference. Vancouver looked to be a clear top three club before the break, but the departure of arguably their biggest contributor (Sebastian Berhalter) may make them vulnerable to a run from LAFC, who have outscored opponents 10-1 in three matches since the World Cup.

Washington Spirit vs. San Diego Wave, NWSL (August 2nd, 4:00 PM ET, CBS Sports): Two top four clubs, who have completely swapped places at the top of the table. The Spirit have one three-in-a-row to go top of the table, with Trinity Rodman hitting her stride and the defence in form. The Wave, meanwhile, have given up multiple goals each of their past three matches as they’ve dropped eight points over that span.

Tampa Bay Rowdies vs. Louisville City FC, USL Championship (August 1st, 8:00 PM ET, ESPN+): One of the USL Championship's defining rivalries returns to Al Lang Stadium with plenty on the line in the Eastern Conference. These clubs have spent years trading playoff blows, including three straight Eastern Conference Finals. Tampa Bay is top of the table and will be looking to protect home turf , while Louisville arrives eager to make a statement of intent as the business end of the season approaches.

Soccerwise's Post-World Cup Plans!

Kickback Soccer Media announced its expanded slate following the 2026 World Cup. Now, every workday, you can tune in and listen to a brand new Soccerwise show, now including the debut of our one-of-a-kind weekly U.S. Soccer show, and our Friday interview special!

Action Items, Kickback:

• Soccerwise: Gass, Bogert, Angeli, and Doyle are back with all your MLS and NWSL reviews and previews, and tune in next week for our debut U.S. Soccerwise and Soccerwise: Open Mic shows! Make sure you also listen to Soccerwise with David Gass, Tom Bogert, Matt Doyle, and Jordan Angeli now on SiriusXM, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 9 p.m. on SiriusXM FC 157, and on the SiriusXM App!
• First Touch: Stay tuned for updates on our new slate of shows covering the global game through an American lens!