The US men’s national team exits the World Cup with notable vacancies in its organizational structure. Mauricio Pochettino’s future remains unclear as his contract, partially financed by billionaire donors, concludes with the end of the tournament. Additionally, Matt Crocker stepped down from his position as sporting director in April to assume a similar role in Saudi Arabia.

Despite these significant openings, resolutions may not come quickly.

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“We are going to take a break after the World Cup and rest and recuperate,” said US Soccer chief executive JT Batson during a media roundtable on Thursday when asked about Pochettino’s status. “I didn’t get to do too much resting and recuperating, but we’re excited about the discussions. [Pochettino and his staff] have been active about long-term planning. As a recent example, [they] were active in our discussions with Steve [Cherundolo] around the U-23 role. We’re feeling good about where we are overall, and we’re looking forward to the discussions.”

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Regarding the role left vacant by Crocker, Batson pointed out that the federation employs over “600 people” working collaboratively toward their overarching goals, rather than relying on a single figurehead.

Both Batson and USSF chief operating officer Dan Helfrich, who also participated in the roundtable, did not specify whether a new sporting director would be included among “a number” of forthcoming hires.

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“We feel confident we have a great team, and that great team has soccer expertise from deep within the American system and soccer expertise from other parts of the world,” Helfrich stated. “As we are talking about and making strategic choices, we have [vice-president of sporting] Oguchi Onyewu and [head of development] Barry Pauwels and [head of women’s youth development] Tracey Kevins and Emma Hayes who are part of the discussions we’re having, both about near-term choices and about longer-term structure.

“I anticipate, in the months to come, there’s a little more clarity on structure, but the fundamentals of the team are there.”