FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. — U.S. men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino first denied that he had met with AC Milan, then opened the door to the possibility that a meeting took place. At the end of a convoluted answer to a targeted line of questioning, he reiterated his commitment to the U.S. through the end of the World Cup.“People that question my commitment are people that want to create some problems,” Pochettino said.The Athletic reported earlier Thursday that Pochettino met with representatives from Italian club AC Milan over its vacant head coach position last week ahead of the start of World Cup camp. Pochettino’s contract with U.S. Soccer is set to expire after this summer’s World Cup.In a roundtable with a group of reporters covering the team’s pre-World Cup training camp on Thursday afternoon, Pochettino said twice that he did not meet with Milan. When asked if his representatives met with the Italian club, Pochettino said: “Maybe. Possible. Because they need to do their job, my representatives.”“You think all the people that represent different coaches have no conversations with different clubs? For different reasons,” Pochettino said.Later, asked again if he met personally with Milan executives, he said, “When and with who? If I met someone, what happens? What is going to change? My contract finishes in July. If the federation wants to talk with me about the future, it’s similar. It’s a similar thing.”Pochettino said he met Sunday in New York City with U.S. Soccer chief executive JT Batson over dinner at a restaurant, Jean-Georges, and was asked if he would be interested in engaging about a contract extension.“We said of course we are open,” Pochettino said.“We have full respect to the USA, we have full respect to the federation,” he continued. “We are so grateful to the federation (for) what they are giving (us), with the possibility to be involved in a dream. Because as a coaching staff it’s difficult to have the possibility to be involved in a World Cup. For me, we are so grateful to USA and the federation and we have an amazing relationship.”Pochettino said that, until that dinner, they had no indication of whether the federation “was happy with us, were not happy,” even as the contract neared expiration. But he reiterated that, while his future remains up in the air once his contract expires, he remains fully focused on the job at hand this summer.“If I don’t have commitment, what am I doing here? If I have the possibility to (go to) another club?” he asked, rhetorically. “It is disrespectful (from my perspective). Because I am here. I am here. I am not going to go away tomorrow. If another club came and said, ‘We want you, but you have to start tomorrow.’ I say, ‘Sorry, I committed with the national team.’ Whether it’s the best club in the world. They can give me all the promises. I am not going to change.”Pochettino emphasized that it is “normal” in global soccer for teams to approach coaches who are near the end of their contract. In this case, the Argentine manager’s deal with U.S. Soccer expires after the U.S. team is eliminated from the summer tournament — or after it raises a World Cup trophy on July 19.