AUSTIN, Texas — It’s still mighty hot here in central Texas, calendar be damned. One step into the punishing sunlight, and you’d think it’s summer. For Mauricio Pochettino and his U.S. men’s national team, the heat offers a reminder that next summer is not so far away — an eight-month rush to the World Cup’s searing spotlight across North America.
With opportunities to prepare running out, the Americans have come to this funky state capital with a roster heavy in players expected to claim the stage in soccer’s quadrennial drama.
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After four days of workouts, Pochettino will continue molding his team with a friendly against World Cup-bound Ecuador on Friday night at Q2 Stadium before traveling to greater Denver to face another qualified side, Australia, on Tuesday.
Amid a tremendous start to his AC Milan season, Christian Pulisic is back for his second consecutive camp after sitting out the Gold Cup this summer. (Pochettino said Thursday, however, that his star forward is nursing an injury.)
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Following another uncertain offseason at Juventus, Weston McKennie was summoned for the first time since the U.S. Nations League fiasco in March.
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Malik Tillman reported for his first call-up since an impressive Gold Cup. Tanner Tessmann was reintroduced after a six-month absence. Matt Turner is back in the goalkeeping mix.
The roster also features regulars Tim Weah, Tim Ream, Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun, plus a group of relative newcomers who have broken from Pochettino’s experimental pack.
Some familiar names are missing. Tyler Adams’ wife, Sarah, is scheduled to give birth any day now; Sergiño Dest isn’t quite ready for international duty after recovering from an ACL injury; and Yunus Musah hasn’t done enough on the Italian club circuit to receive an invite.
For the most part, though, Pochettino has gathered a squad that will form a large section of next summer’s roster. With those parts in place, the time has come to build off a solid victory against Japan last month and take the next necessary steps.
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“What’s most important is what we are building here in the camp,” Pochettino said. “Of course, we need to play and we need to perform and we need to win, because that is going to give us the credibility in our work. … I have no doubt we are going to arrive in a very good way.”
The urgency to win, even in friendlies, is growing.
“We can talk about performance this, performance that, but at the end of the day, if you’re not winning games … ” Richards said, pausing for an instant, “winning games gives you confidence going into bigger games, into big tournaments. If we can put together some big wins against some good sides leading into the World Cup, that’s the best confidence boost.”
The U.S. team has not had many big wins this year. It lost both matches at the Nations League finals and was smoked in friendlies against European competition before losing in the Gold Cup final to Mexico, its only high-level opponent of the tournament. A few days before rebounding against Japan, the Americans were outclassed by South Korea.
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All in all, it was not exactly the set of results to prepare for the World Cup and build enthusiasm around the country.
Mauricio Pochettino guides the U.S. men’s national team through its Austin camp as it gears up for friendlies against Ecuador and Australia.
(John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF via Getty Images)
That is why this camp and next month’s home friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay are so important. After these gatherings, Pochettino will not have his players together again until March — the final assembly before the World Cup squad is selected in May. (Portugal and Belgium are the reported opponents in the spring.)
With expectations rising, “We want to put on good performances,” Pulisic said. “We want to come out with good results. As simple as that: We want to understand and know where our team is and have a good feeling going forward as we get closer to the summer.”
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It’s been a process for Pochettino, a first-time national team coach who took the helm a year ago after guiding Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain.
He calls the Nations League failure a “wake-up call.”
The March competition was “a time to assess, to see, and the moment we identified the problems, we started to destroy the things that we need to destroy and start to build the house from the ground up,” Pochettino said. “And that is what’s important. It all takes time … It’s difficult for [fans] to understand that process, but I think we are on time.”
Pochettino used the Gold Cup to test inexperienced players in a meaningful competition. He retained several of them for the September camp, mixing them with returning veterans. For this camp, he narrowed the pool and reintegrated some seasoned players.
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Whether Pulisic will play Friday remains unclear. For undisclosed reasons, Pulisic, Alex Zendejas and Antonee Robinson did not train Thursday.
Pulisic’s absence would be disappointing. He is not only the U.S. team’s best player; he is in great form in Serie A. His Italian performance has come after skipping the Gold Cup — a move that caused a stir in U.S. circles and created friction with Pochettino. From all indications, they have mended their differences.
“I worked really hard this summer,” Pulisic said. “It’s not like I just took a break. I wanted to make sure my body was in the perfect spot coming into the season and I wanted to start really strong. … It’s good to see it come to fruition, but it’s just the start of the season. I have so much more I want to accomplish.”
Meantime, the enigmatic McKennie is seeking to reestablish himself after a six-month international absence and questions of whether he would remain with Juventus. It wasn’t the first time his club future had been left up in the air during the offseason.
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“The summer is always a roller coaster for me — nothing’s really changed,” he said. “I don’t think anyone wants to have their head messed with every summer. I’m used to it whenever it comes around to summertime. I know it’s just the best time for me to put my head down and do what I do best and hopefully prove people wrong, but mostly prove myself right.”
His return to the U.S. team brings back not only a 2022 World Cup midfielder but a big personality.
“He brings a smile to the team,” Pulisic said. “He brings a lot of energy and also just his personality. He’s just a great guy to have around.”
Tillman was passed over last month so he could focus on integrating into his new club, Bayer Leverkusen. Though he understood Pochettino’s reasoning, he was still disappointed about being left out.
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“If you have the opportunity to come here,” he said, “you always want to come here.”
For Pochettino, Friday’s match provides a window into his program’s progress since making his U.S. debut in Austin almost a year ago.
“It’s not a magic touch that you have and you can completely change things [right away],” he said. “But I think today we are so happy. … [The team has] already started to see the result how we are completely different one year ago and today. I don’t say better or worse; I say different.”
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