Mauricio Pochettino’s U.S. men’s national team roster could look a lot different in the coming months, but for now he’s sticking with the familiar faces in the player pool.
Pochettino revealed his first roster as USMNT head coach on Wednesday heading into October friendlies against Panama and Mexico. The Argentine manager selected 25 players which featured usual faces such as Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, Antonee Robinson, and Ricardo Pepi.
However, the continued injury absences of Sergino Dest and Tyler Adams were joined by recent absentees Chris Richards, Gio Reyna and Cameron Carter-Vickers, who have also dealt with recent knocks of their own.
Pochettino doesn’t have his strongest USMNT roster yet and might not for some time, but does expect things to change once everyone is healthy and injury-free.
“[I trust] the opinion and all the information that we received from the national team, that is why you are going to see a very similar roster from [the] last camp,” said Pochettino on Wednesday in a conference call with media.
“Maybe [they’re] not now in the roster,” said Pochettino when asked about the current absentees. “But for sure they’re going to be in the roster in the future.”
One position that will be up for grabs is the starting goalkeeper role. Matt Turner and Ethan Horvath have regularly been the top-two options for the USMNT, but both have struggled with consistent playing time at club level.
Zack Steffen, who formerly was the USMNT’s No. 1, is back in his first camp since 2023, and is joined by rising MLS talent Patrick Schulte. Schulte started in both of the USMNT’s matches last September after earning his senior debut in January under Gregg Berhalter.
While Turner and Horvath have been at the forefront of the No. 1 job over the last few years, the return of Steffen and the growth of Schulte could lead to a major change in between the posts.
“We know him, and I think he deserved the opportunity to be with us,” Pochettino said about Steffen. “Of course, we always put all the circumstances when we made the decision, but I think he deserved the opportunity to be with us.
“A coach always worries when his players have few minutes in their clubs,” said Pochettino about Turner and Horvath’s lack of playing time. “It’s important to arrive at a World Cup in the best conditions.”
October’s camp will certainly kick off the early relationships between Pochettino and the USMNT players, especially with larger opportunities on the horizon. The USMNT will take part in the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals this November for the first competitive matches under their new head coach.
2025 will serve as a busy preparatory period with the CONCACAF Gold Cup and potential Nations League Final Four being the final competitive matches before the 2026 FIFA World Cup on North American soil. Pochettino’s roster could feature many new faces by the time the World Cup comes around, which could help greatly in the USMNT being among the contenders to lift the trophy in two years time.
“From now [on] after the Austin camp, we are going to be more in contact, and we plan to be seeing them, not only the players that are going to be in the roster for this camp, if not for the players that we want to see [play] and maybe we are thinking in the possibility for the future,” Pochettino said about his future plans as leader of the program.
“Not only the players that are in Europe, also players that are playing in different countries, like in MLS of course, players with potential,” he added. “We are going to try to create these links and relationships for them, to feel that we are going to care, and to look after them and going to follow them, and to try to push and to motivate that there is the possibility, is going to be the opportunity if they perform well.”
