Mauricio Pochettino has Tottenham plan as pressure on Igor Tudor ramps up

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·10 March 2026

Mauricio Pochettino has Tottenham plan as pressure on Igor Tudor ramps up

Spurs favourite has again been linked with return to north London after World Cup

Mauricio Pochettino is reportedly set to be in attendance when Tottenham face Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.

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Free-falling Spurs travel to the Spanish capital on Tuesday night desperately seeking a distraction from their dire domestic fortunes as they meet Diego Simeone’s side in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

Igor Tudor will be in the dugout for Tottenham as the interim boss aims for a first victory in his fourth match in charge as Thomas Frank’s initial successor, having already come under sustained pressure after successive defeats by Arsenal, Fulham and Crystal Palace to open his tenure deepened fears over a disastrous relegation from the Premier League.

Tudor’s Spurs will be watched in person by a man heavily touted once again to be in the running for the full-time job in the summer, with multiple outlets including The Telegraph claiming that Pochettino is planning to be present at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano Stadium on Tuesday evening.

The Argentine remains an enduringly popular figure at Tottenham after his five-year spell in charge between 2014-19 and has been frequently linked with a return to north London, having coached the United States men’s national team (USMNT) since the end of his short-lived Chelsea tenure in 2024.

Pochettino’s current contract with the USA expires after this summer’s World Cup finals, where they are one of the host nations and in a group alongside Paraguay, Australia and the Path C winners from the UEFA qualification play-offs - either Slovakia, Kosovo, Turkey or Romania.

The Wanda Metropolitano is the scene of the 2019 Champions League final, where Pochettino’s Spurs were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool after goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi, having come through a tough group containing Barcelona and Inter Milan before ousting all of Borussia Dortmund, Manchester City and Ajax during a truly memorable run to Madrid.

ESPN this week have also suggested that Pochettino is on Real Madrid’s shortlist to replace Alvaro Arbeloa as head coach at the Bernabeu next season, amid other links to the likes of Jurgen Klopp, Unai Emery and Massimiliano Allegri.