With the World Cup eight months away, Mauricio Pochettino looked to the October training camp as a platform to narrow his U.S. national team player pool and curate a roster he hoped would begin taking hold before next summer’s soccer spectacle.
Roster selection, though, is never a clean process. And on Thursday, ahead of the third-to-last assembly before World Cup decisions are due, the coach’s 26-man squad had several notable absences, including midfielders Tyler Adams and Yunus Musah and right back Sergiño Dest.
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There was no immediate explanation from Pochettino or the U.S. Soccer Federation for the omission of Adams, the 2022 World Cup captain and September camp attendee who is playing regularly for Premier League club Bournemouth.
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Pochettino was scheduled to answer questions from reporters late Thursday morning in Austin, Texas, where camp will open Monday.
The absences of Musah and Dest — a pair of 2022 World Cup starters — were clearer: The former is not playing regularly for Serie A’s Atalanta, while the latter has missed recent PSV Eindhoven matches because of injury.
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Ailments also ruled out Atletico Madrid midfielder Johnny Cardoso and forwards Gio Reyna (Möenchengladbach) and Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven).
Following a year of mixed results, time is running short on Pochettino’s effort to shape the squad and implement his World Cup plans. After facing Ecuador on Oct. 10 in Austin and Australia four days later in Commerce City, Colorado, the Americans will host Paraguay and Uruguay next month and reportedly Portugal and Belgium in March before the final squad is chosen in May.
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino continues to experiment with his lineup, even with just three camps remaining before 2026 World Cup roster decisions.
(Koji Watanabe via Getty Images)
Pochettino also passed over forward Josh Sargent, who has not scored for the national team in almost six years and has gone scoreless in four consecutive starts for Norwich City in the English Championship.
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More than half the U.S. roster, though, includes players not invited or unavailable for last month’s friendlies against South Korea and Japan. Most notably, goalkeeper Matt Turner, left back Antonee Robinson and midfielder Weston McKennie are back in the mix.
Robinson, a standout from Premier League club Fulham, has yet to play for the national team this year because of knee issues. McKennie, from Serie A’s Juventus, will return for the first time since the U.S. team’s Nations League debacle in March.
Celtic center back Cameron Carter-Vickers and midfielder Tanner Tessmann, who is in terrific form for Olympique Lyonnais, are also back after six-month absences.
Perhaps the biggest surprises on the list were Middlesbrough midfielder Aidan Morris, whose previous call-up came a year ago, and St. Pauli midfielder James Sands, who will report to his first Pochettino camp.
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As expected, Pochettino recalled forward Christian Pulisic, who is in sensational form with AC Milan; forward Alex Zendejas, who has dazzled for Club América in Mexico; and defender Chris Richards, whose Crystal Palace side is third in the Premier League after defeating reigning champion Liverpool last weekend.
Coventry City forward Haji Wright, the top scorer in the English Championship, and Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Malik Tillman also made the cut.
USMNT roster by position
Goalkeepers: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; no caps), Matt Freese (New York City FC; nine), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; three), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 52).
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Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 12 caps, one goal), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic; 19/0), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 9/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse; 22/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 77/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace; 33/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham; 50/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 35/3).
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United; 53/9), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 14/3), Weston McKennie (Juventus; 60/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough; 9/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 39/0), James Sands (St. Pauli; 11/0), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais; 8/0), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen; 25/3).
Forwards: Patrick Agyemang (Derby County; 12/5), Folarin Balogun (Monaco; 19/6), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan; 80/32), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille; 45/7), Haji Wright (Coventry City; 17/5), Alex Zendejas (Club América; 13/2).
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