“No one has their place assured. That is my message for everyone,” U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
Christian Pulisic is back.
The AC Milan star headlines the United States men's national team roster for September friendly matches against South Korea and Japan. It was no guarantee that Pulisic would return so soon. His decision to skip the Gold Cup drew criticism from analysts, but also looked to frustrate the actual decision-maker, U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino.
After the Americans’ defeat to Mexico in the Gold Cup final, Pochettino underlined that no one’s spot on any roster going forward would be guaranteed. Rather than a hint to Pulisic, however, it seems that Pochettino was making a general statement — releasing a roster Tuesday that included Pulisic but omitted many other regulars — and contained a few other surprises.
“We didn’t talk with Christian. I think we have nothing to talk [about]. I think this is behind us, all that happened in the summer,” Pochettino said Tuesday. “Now, we need to look forward. We have a plan for every single player. The plan for Christian now is to call [him], to see him in this camp and of course hope he arrives in a good condition, fresh … and ready to compete.”
[Join or create a Yahoo Fantasy Football league for the 2025 NFL season]
The mini-spat always was going to be resolved. Pulisic wasn’t going to miss a chance to represent his country in a home World Cup, an opportunity afforded to so few players during their careers. Never before and perhaps never again will so much attention be focused on the U.S. squad as next summer. Being the face of the team is the dream of any young player, and a long boycott was never in the cards.
Similarly, Pochettino could’ve left the 26-year-old off the list for September but was never likely to extend the absence beyond that. The U.S. has precious few matches left before its World Cup opener June 12 at SoFi Stadium in Southern California. Leaving the most talented player off the roster because of a months-old disagreement rather than turning the page makes little sense.
That scarcity of games makes many of the other decisions Pochettino and his staff have made about who is on the squad and who will stay with their clubs all the more intriguing.
Some players who seemed discarded during the summer Gold Cup are on the list. Norwich City forward Josh Sargent and Club América winger Alejandro Zendejas both could’ve taken part in the summer with no club commitments, like the Club World Cup, in their way but weren’t part of the U.S. run to the final.
“We still haven’t had one year in charge, and it’s not a normal [club] team where you can work every single week, work hard for months,” Pochettino said. “We need to really understand every single player. We want to know all aspects: When we call, when we didn’t call, their reaction, how they show their character, their capacity to fight for a position on the national team. This competition, I think, can only be positive for the final roster for the World Cup.
“That’s why we added new faces on this roster," he added. "All the players we’ve called in the past have the opportunity to show their quality and convince us they deserve to be in a place in the national team. That’s the plan for us."
Others who seemed to be shoo-ins for this list are not present. Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, Atlético Madrid midfielder Johnny Cardoso and Toulouse center back Mark McKenzie are playing for top European clubs but will not make the trip across the Atlantic next month to represent the U.S.
Cardoso only completed his move to Atleti this summer and, while injured, spent the Gold Cup with the U.S. squad. McKennie, on the other hand, was playing the Club World Cup with Juventus. Pochettino said he wants to see McKennie win a bigger role with Juventus but also made it clear that even regulars like the Texas native and World Cup veteran need to keep pushing to earn a place on the final squad.
“No one has their place assured. That is my message for everyone,” Pochettino said. “They need to fight because it’s an open system. We suffered a lot of injured players in the summer and need to be ready because maybe a week before announcing the roster before the World Cup, some problem arrives and I think it’s fair to have different players with the possibility of them to fight and know they have the possibility to be on the roster.”
The other surprise was seeing two uncapped goalkeepers on the list: FC Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano and Jonathan Klinsmann, an LA Galaxy alumnus currently playing with Serie B Cesena.
Matt Freese returns after serving as the U.S. No. 1 goalkeeper during the Gold Cup, but it will be interesting to watch whether or not Pochettino and his staff give chances to the new players after leaving out Matt Turner, Zack Steffen, Patrick Schulte and others who have been with the U.S. more recently.
The Pulisic saga — such that it was a saga — had an obvious expiration date. Pochettino and his staff ended it more quickly than some expected, believing the team is better with a happy and motivated Pulisic on it. The response they see from the omitted veterans will dictate who makes it for lists in October and November as the World Cup deadline draws closer.
Category: General Sports
