Mauricio Pochettino dropped his first USMNT roster, and the first thing one can say is, “we’ve seen this before.” The vast majority of the team is made up of the usual suspects, led by Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, and the experience of Tim Ream.
The call-ups come as Pochettino will finally coach his first two games in charge of the team against Panama at home on October 12 and a unique fixture for Mexico, as they will play a friendly match at home against the USMNT on October 15th.
We break down Pochettino’s first roster, noting some well-deserved returns to the US, as well as shocks and omissions. Overall, the roster is everything we have seen before; the question is, can Pochettino make it work where Gregg Berhalter could not in his second stint?
USMNT: Mauricio Pochettino Plays It Safe
Mauricio Pochettino did not want to get too creative. The USMNT is in desperate need of a good performance and some moral wins, so possibly some omissions were left home. The biggest surprise is again in goal, which sees the return of Zack Steffen. Who will rise to claim the starting position in goal for these games remains a mystery, as goalkeeping on the USMNT has been weak for some time now.
Marlon Fossey, who impressed last camp, is back, while Gianluca Busio gets a well-deserved call-up after good play for his club Venezia in Italy. Josh Sargent, who has been injured mostly when national team duty arrives, will be a player to watch with his impressive form with Norwich City in England.
In regard to second chances, Pochettino has called back underperformers Ethan Horvath, Matt Turner, Miles Robinson, Brenden Aaronson, Yunus Musah, and Malik Tillman, some of whom are getting what could be a final chance with the team.
Important omissions include Cameron Carter-Vickers, who picked up an injury; goalkeepers Diego Kochen and Gabriel Slonina, who were left off in favor of more experienced but disappointing choices; and Giovanni Reyna, who is also injured.
Diego Luna, who is by far one of the more interesting young talents in MLS, continues to get snubbed from the senior team, as does Tanner Tessmann, who is still adapting to life at Lyon. Winger Rokas Pukštas has also been left home despite interest from top clubs in the American playing in Croatia.
Full USMNT Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City/WAL; 9/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 29/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 45/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege; 1/0), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo/ITA; 5/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 14/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 62/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 46/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 29/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach/GER; 12/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 2/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 44/8), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 13/1), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 17/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 56/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 7/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA; 41/0), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 14/0)
FORWARDS (6): Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 17/5), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven; 30/10), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 73/31), Josh Sargent (Norwich City/ENG; 25/5), Timothy Weah (Juventus/ITA; 41/6), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 13/4)