News of injuries to Chris Richards and Miles Robinson compounded the concerns over the USMNT’s most suspect sector: the central defense.
Following the USA’s Friday practice at Atlanta United’s training facility, Coach Maurico Pochettino explained that Richards’ knee pain will sideline him for Saturday’s friendly against Belgium and very likely Tuesday’s clash with Portugal. Robinson suffered a groin injury in practice earlier this week and will miss both games.
“We’re lucky that we brought five center backs,” said Pochettino, who played in Argentina’s central defense at the 2002 World Cup.
In addition to traditional central defenders Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty, Joe Scally and Tanner Tessmann are backline options. Scally usually plays outside back or wide midfielder for Borussia Mönchengladbach, but has filled in as a central defender, as has Tessmann, primarily a defensive midfielder at Lyon.
In the USA’s tremendous 5-1 win over Uruguay in its final game of 2025, Pochettino started a back three of Alex Freeman, McKenzie and Trusty.
In another standout performance of the Pochettino era, a 2-0 win over Japan, Freeman played wing back while the back three consisted of Ream, Richards and Tristan Blackmon, who’s not in camp.
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