There's only one story in American soccer this week and it's the impending departure of USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino for the grayer pastures of Manchester to become the next manager of Manchester United. Jason is joined by Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer (Buy a sub! Support Jon!) to talk about Poch's decision to leave and US Soccer's search for a new head coach. Will big billionaire money pushing US Soccer to chase another big name? Who are the candidates? Pep Guardiola? B.J. Callaghan? We toss in some talk about the U-17 USMNT pulling out of the U-17 World Cup in Qatar over safety issues and the 2027 class for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Support the show by joining the TBSS Patreon. Get access to the Besties Slack, bonus content, and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason is joined by Alex Shephard of The New Republic and this summer's hit World Cup magazine Golden Goal to break down the USMNT roster for the Nations League quarterfinals against Haiti. Support the show on Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Give the show a rating and a review wherever you get it! It helps us make the audience bigger and keeps the show going. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

JASON IS BACK WITH THE BEST SOCCER SHOW. After a few weeks off for travel to Argentina and Fort Wayne, Jason is joined by Jonathan Tannenwald to talk about: 1. American soccer culture and fan support and our quixotic quest to live up to the standards of some other soccer culture. 2. The MLS Cup playoff picture, including a discussion of which teams are legit and which are counterfeit. 3. The USMNT roster for the Nations League quarterfinals, with some MLS scheduling issues that could impact the striker group. 4. NWSL playoff scheduling problems that echo what's happening in the WNBA finals. 5. MLS Sprint Season schedule first impressions. 6. Eddie Johnson v. Landon Donovan. What? Support the show with a review wherever you get the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With two games down and two to go for the USMNT in this extended international window, Jason grabbed veteran soccer writer Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports to break down the wins over Peru and Chile and talk about what it all means (with Mexico looming on Saturday). * What do we make of the young talent so far? * Are there senior level players in that group right now? * How the Olympics in 2028 are impacting this window * How Poch has changed the vibes for this new cycle * Cavan Sullivan's potential and future at Man City * Positional depth questions * Dual national panic and whether there's any fix Support The Best Soccer Show on Patreon and join the best American soccer community on our Slack. You'll also get access to bonus content, like Jason playing FIFA 18 with his 5-year-old son Thiago. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason rides solo this week to discuss the influx of new faces with the USMNT and decide which ones we can be truly excited about. What are the goals for this game and for this camp? With some help from the live viewers, Jason gets in the weeds on whether there needs to be some winning for the Americans as the new World Cup cycle gets underway. Jason plays a few clips from Pochettino on his thoughts about this moment, the young players entering the pool, and what the dream for the USMNT is for 2030 (if he sticks around that long). Then we mark the end of the career of Gyasi Zardes before diving into some existential stuff coming out of Mexico. Support the show on the Patreon at patreon.com/thebestsoccershow. Recent bonus content includes Jason and his 5-year-old Thiago firing up FIFA 18. Check out Morning Kickaround on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts. MK just made a big announcement about our next live event in Fort Wayne, Indiana on October 24th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SUPER SPECIAL SHOW. To celebrate the drop of the new USMNT roster, Jason is joined by Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer and JRODIOS JARED DUBOIS to talk about the new faces in the national team setup. Included in this episode: * Thoughts on the World Cup boom (and whether MLS did anything to capitalize on it * Cavan Sullivan's promise and just how good he is * Other names in the roster to get excited about Check out our Patreon for bonus content patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's a threesome this week as Jason is joined by old friend of the show Jonathan Tannenwald (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and new friend of the show Alex Shephard (The New Republic, Golden Goal) to talk about the upcoming USMNT camp. As always, there's plenty of discussion about how Pochettino goes about his job and what that means for the future of the USMNT. If you like the show, give TBSS a rating and a review wherever you get your podcasts. It helps the show grow. You can get bonus content, like Jason's playthrough of FIFA 18: The Journey by signing up for The Best Soccer Show on Patreon. For much more on the USL news that we opened the show with, be sure to check out Jason's other project, Morning Kickaround on YouTube or podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason is joined by old friend of the show Jonathan Tannenwald to talk about the big news in American soccer. J&J and talk through the failed transfer of Folarin Balogun to Everton. Why did Balogun walk away from a deal at the last minute? What does it mean for his USMNT future? Then Jason and Jon hit on the story that MLS is putting all 27 of its American teams back in the US Open Cup. The guys talk through what this means for the Open Cup and how its tied to the Leagues Cup and other MLS interests. Then the subject is the MLS transfer window and what teams did what things to make themselves down the stretch of the season. Support the show! patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Get yourself a Folarin Balogun shirt or something with the show's logo on it. https://thebestsoccershow.creator-spring.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Jeremiah Oshan joins Jason to talk: * The Sounders' big move for Dejan Jovelic * The state of the club in the ever-changing MLS landscape * League Cup, the MLS failures in it, and the future of the competition * How MLS is addicted to change * What MLS success looks like If you like the show and want to help keep it going, join the TBSS Patreon and get access to the Besties Slack community and bonus content. patreon.com/thebestsoccershow Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the news from Pablo Maurer that Major League Soccer is once again planning to change its playoff format, Jason is joined by Arman Kafai of Footy Analytics Musings to break down the weird, complicated format under consideration. Near the end of the show, Jason and Arman talk about the outlook for a handful of the most exciting/interesting names in the USMNT player pool with the European seasons kicking off. Join the Patreon and get extra content like Jason playing FIFA18 or other more soccer news-focused fare. Give the show a rating a review wherever you get it or tell a friend about it. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices