Mauricio Pochettino named a U.S. national team roster for the September friendlies against South Korea and Japan that left out some familiar names and top emerging players.

That sparked short-term questions — how will the USA fare against a pair of Asian powers? — and long-term speculation about Pochettino’s selection process heading toward the 2026 World Cup.

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Big picture/Small picture issues

It is possible to examine this roster for both the short- and the long-term implications. Pochettino helped explain during Tuesday’s media call with several key statements. 

First, he quantified the USMNT player pool and said he was tracking 60-65 players on a weekly basis to monitor their progress. 

Second, he said this was the last camp with the possibility of bringing in new faces (at least in significant numbers). 

Third, and most importantly, he addressed the nature of needing roster spots to become more competitive within the squad. In a specific point that addressed the nature of the roster, he said he didn’t have “A team” players or “B team” players as the media and fans like to refer to teams. Often this leads to the assumption that only a few players are competing for roster spots while others are “locks” who can take their spots for granted. 

“We respect and have full respect for all the players who can be called by us,” Pochettino said. “All need to feel the possibility to fight for a place. If we want to be a team that is really competitive, we cannot nominate 13, 14, 16 players and say for sure these guys will arrive at the World Cup and the rest need to fight for a place. 

“Come on, that is not the real sport of football. When you see national teams that have won World Cups, you really understand what that means.

“Players need to feel the threat from your teammates They need to defend their place every single possibility they have with the national team.”

Many fans were critical of the roster. Even giving full respect to a coach of Pochettino’s stature, some of the picks were tough to comprehend. But critics of the roster must ask: What, exactly, makes this team exempt from an overhaul? What about the team over the past 16 months is worth clinging to? 

At the Copa America and at the Nations League, the team played far below the sum of its parts. The Gold Cup was somewhat better but even then, Pochettino was limited with roster constraints. 

If Pochettino wants to change the direction of the team, he can’t call back the same core each camp, which was a valid criticism during the later years of Gregg Berhalter’s tenure. The few new faces that would occasionally emerge would then have a harder time finding their way because the large core would dictate the culture. 

To get to the heart of it, this roster is about cleaning the slate.

This camp is about making players work for call-ups, and when they get back into camp, having a new tone. It is sending a message to players.  

An important takeaway: the players not in camp are just as important as the players who are on this roster. Pochettino wants to see those who were left off respond the way Josh Sargent has (scoring goals in each of Norwich’s first four games this season). 

Pochettino wants to see desperation for call-ups, not players simply assuming they’ll be invited. Then once they’re in camp, they know they must perform to earn playing time. 

Pochettino inherited a flawed team whose core has been together for over half a decade. It’s a process to fix it. It’s not about a few simple tactical adjustments but rather more drastic measures. 

We don’t yet know how the team will look in October. But the players in this camp have a huge opportunity to boost their stock. The players not in this camp simply have to work harder and perform better. Pochettino and his staff are watching their club performances.

Here’s a position-by-position look at things.

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Goalkeeping

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• In camp: Matt Freese, Roman Celentano, Jonathan Klinsmann.

• In the mix: Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen, Ethan Horvath, Chris Brady.

Pochettino has turned the goalkeeping position on its head. Not since Tim Howard or Brad Guzan were in the picture has the USMNT willingly dropped Matt Turner, Zack Steffen or Ethan Horvath in a FIFA calendar window. Then, on top of that, 2024 Olympic team goalkeeper Patrick Schulte has also been dropped. 

Matt Freese is a great example of how things can change for a player. With Pochettino wanting to look at different options beyond Turner, Freese was given the starting Gold Cup spot when Schulte and Steffen were injured. A bad mistake against Haiti aside, he took advantage of the opportunity. He’s now fighting to possibly be a World Cup starter.