USMNT coach Pochettino finally gets serious about the first-team roster in advance of 2026 World Cup

USMNT coach Pochettino finally gets serious about the first-team roster in advance of 2026 World Cup originally appeared on The Sporting News

The date of the FIFA World Cup opener – June 12, 2026 – has been seared into the minds of American soccer fans for nearly two years, since the competition schedule for the tournament was announced. The number of days that remain before the opening game of United States men’s national team never stops shrinking.

And that’s why so many who follow the team, as fans who cheer for the team and analysts paid to examine its performance, have been seeking a sense of urgency from head coach Mauricio Pochettino in preparing the USMNT to perform at its best.

Finally, that's reflected in the team's approach to a national team window.

It was plain for all to see in the 26-man roster he selected for two exhibition games this month in the October international window, against Ecuador Oct. 10 in Austin and then Australia Oct. 14 in the Denver suburbs. The players chosen, with the exception of a few excluded (Tyler Adams, Ricardo Pepi, Sergino Dest) because of minor injuries or family circumstances, are those with the resumes that suggest a high degree of likelihood they can make the final World Cup roster.

MORE:A full look at the USMNT roster for October friendlies vs. Ecuador & Australia

Such players as midfielders Weston McKennie and Tanner Tessman, forwards Tim Weah and Haji Wright, and defenders Cameron Carter-Vickers and Miles Robinson, each of them absent from recent rosters for varying reasons, will be involved in those games and the fight to secure positions in the World Cup. There are 10 veterans of the 2022 World Cup team, including star Christian Pulisic, versatile midfielder Brenden Aaronson and goalkeeper Matt Turner.

Pochettino was serious enough to select three players who are involved in Major League Soccer playoff pursuits and have games that conflict with the USMNT’s two friendlies: Alex Freeman of Orlando City, whose team stands seventh in the Eastern Conference, with six total points separating third from ninth; Diego Luna of Real Salt Lake, who are two positions and two points from a playoff spot, and Christian Roldan of the Seattle Sounders, fighting to remain fifth but just two points ahead of the sixth- and seventh-place teams in the West. All three players will miss critical club fixtures scheduled during the international break.

That increased “focus,” as Pochettino likes to trumpet, also could be gleaned from his responses in a press conference Thursday morning, particularly a surprisingly contentious soliloquy regarding why two players, right back Joe Scally and midfielder Yunus Musah, were not called to this camp.

MORE:Full USMNT schedule for 2025, including remaining October and November friendlies

"Next time, you provide your list and your roster and after we can debate," Pochettino told ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle who had innocently asked about the two players' absences. “We never give explanations or reasons to those not with us. When you’re asking me about players who are not in the squad or in the roster, it’s because I think in your mind you believe that they have a right to be here. I think we need to respect the players that are in the 26.

"In soccer … there are not too many players around the world … maybe you can ask me why Messi’s not in the roster, this type of player. Maradona, Pele, I don’t know. But when you’re talking about different names, you need to respect the players that are here."

In previous gatherings of the USMNT, for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the summer and then two September friendlies, Pochettino unapologettically experimented with less known and established players. From those occasions, Max Arfsten of the Columbus Crew, goalkeeper Matt Freese. Luna and Freeman appear to have made enough of an impression to be recalled this time. 

MORE:Mauricio Pochettino contract, salary with USMNT ahead of 2026 World Cup

Pochettino talked substantially about the need to see how players operate under World Cup conditions, specifically, playing with only three days of rest between games. There is a full week between the opening game and the second game of Group D play, in part because of the expansion to 48 teams, but only five days between the final group game and a potential round of 32 game, and only four between the round of 16 and quarterfinals.

A question about why he included only one natural right back on his roster – Freeman – was particularly revealing, in part because Pochettino wanted it not to be. Sergino Dest was not brought in because of an injury that kept him from PSV Eindhoven’s Champions League game Wednesday, but Pochettino could have selected another player at that position, including Scally.

Instead, the head man stopped himself from answering the question directly, opting out because it might provide a clue to Ecuador or Australia, the team’s upcoming opponents. In doing so, he just might have given the answer away.

This all suggests the USMNT will continue to look at the three-center back formation, which proved successful in a 2-0 victory against Japan last month. In that 3-4-2-1 formation, Freeman played up the field on the right side, with the Columbus Crew’s Max Arfsten on the left.

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Sure enough, Pochettino referred to Freeman as a “wingback,” in his most recent press conference. With their clubs, McKennie and Weah have played periodically at that position as well. With Jedi Robinson returning after missing all previous 2025 games because of injuries, the U.S. could have the chance to see how he functions as a left wing-back as well, although he is likely to see limited time this break as he continues to regain full fitness.

Pochettino ultimately explained that players should understand themselves why they’re on a roster or not, or why they’re in the lineup or on the bench. He said he does not discuss with players who aren’t selected the reasons for their exclusion, unless they ask what they must do to have a better chance to be chosen next time, hinting that it's on the players, not the coach, to seek out more information.

“That is a different question,” Pochettino said. “Players that are here in the roster, or players that call us and say, ‘What do you expect from us?’ That I can explain and speak a half an hour, one hour, two hours. And we can see videos and everything.

“That is why I think we need to learn. The players need to learn how to ask the coaches. It’s really important. In my world, explanations are not positive things.”

The fans will learn over the next few weeks the answers they have been seeking for months: who will be on the field for the United States as they host the biggest soccer tournament in the nation's history? Many of the players who will determine the destiny of soccer in this country for the foreseeable future may indeed be convened now, with just over eight months to go before the competition commences in earnest.