USMNT's Yunus Musah on potential hire of Mauricio Pochettino: 'He'll be able to help a lot'

Prospective new U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino picked up a major endorsement from midfielder Yunus Musah on Thursday, who expressed his excitement at the potential hire as the team eyes a statement-making performance at the 2026 World Cup on home soil.

Musah became one of the first USMNT players to comment publicly on the possibility of Pochettino's hire during an interview on Morning Footy, CBS Sports Golazo Network 's daily soccer show.

"Honestly, when I saw the news, it was nice to see that a manager like Pochettino [who's] coached a lot of top teams, agreed to coach for us," Musah said. "I don't think it's official yet or whatever but if he becomes our manager, I feel like he'll be able to help a lot. He's a manager that's worked with top players so he definitely has a lot of things he trusts."

Musah also pivoted to the players' responsibility with less than two years until the World Cup, especially considering their earlier-than-anticipated group stage exit from this summer's Copa America.

"We need to also take accountability," he said. "At the end of the day, we have a manager that comes in, we have to also push on, you know?"

Reports emerged last week that Pochettino agreed to become the USMNT head coach , though a few formalities remain before the deal gets across the line. Neither party has signed an agreement yet, while Pochettino's hire also still awaits approval from the U.S. Soccer Federation's board of directors. They will meet on Friday in Atlanta but it is currently unclear if the hire will be amongst the topics they cover. Pochettino also reportedly still needs to reach a deal of sorts with his former employers at Chelsea -- he surprisingly left that job in May, just one year into his two-year deal, and the financial deals of his exit are reportedly still to be ironed out.

Pochettino is expected to succeed Gregg Berhalter, who was fired in July after the USMNT crashed out of the Copa America in the group stages . The earlier-than-expected exit inspired a coaching search for a top-tier coach ahead of the World Cup, with Pochettino fitting the bill. The Argentine has plenty of experience in the Premier League after coaching Southampton, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea, and also coached Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain. He crossed paths with USSF sporting director Matt Crocker while at Southampton.

A new coach will likely refresh the competition for spots in the USMNT's lineup, something Musah hinted at during his interview with Morning Footy. The midfielder is in his second season with AC Milan but his first under new head coach Paulo Fonseca, who he believes will assist his development as a player and have a positive impact on his national team career. He's already started the Serie A season in strong form, assisting Milan's stoppage-time equalizer in their 2-2 draw with Torino over the weekend.

"I definitely think that playing here at Milan with Fonseca and the messages that he's given me and the position I'm playing in will definitely help me with the national team, for sure," Musah said.

Milan continue their Serie A campaign on Saturday when they travel to Parma, which will air live on CBS at 12:30 p.m. ET.

How to watch Parma vs. AC Milan on CBS

• Date : Saturday, Aug. 24 | Time : 12:30 p.m. ET
• Location : Stadio Ennio Tardini -- Parma, Italy
• TV: CBS Live stream: Paramount+
• Odds: Parma +300; Draw +175; AC Milan -105