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Mauricio Pochettino has named his roster for the October international break, which will see the United States face Ecuador and Australia. While Weston McKennie makes his return to the national team during this break, Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest, and Gio Reyna will miss out due to personal reasons and injuries.
With time until the World Cup dwindling, this is a camp that Pochettino will use to refine his top squad and build upon the United States’ defeating Japan during the September break. Facing strong sides who have both qualified for the World Cup, the USMNT will face good opposition in this camp.
Pochettino opened up on some of the culture shifts that have happened during his year in charge of the national team, and overall, he’s happy with where things are at the moment.
“It’s about giving players confidence and the possibility to fight for a place, and that is a thing that is really important that we are feeling now,” Pochettino said. “It’s not because your name is one or another, you are going to have the place for sure in the roster for the World Cup and I think that is an idea that we were fighting the last year to try and fix that, change the culture, change the division, change the idea that because in the past I performed in some way or because I did well four years ago, now I have a right to come and use my place because it is my place. I think that has changed a lot.”
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This is a more experienced roster than the ones which Pochettino has been calling in while he was getting a look at the USMNT’s depth, with Chris Brady being the only player seeking their first cap. Matt Turner, Cameron Carter-Vickers, James Sands, Aidan Morris, and Tanner Tessemann all make their returns to the squad after missing out on Gold Cup duty, but let’s take a look at the full roster.
Roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 9/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 52/0)
DEFENDERS (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 12/1), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 19/0), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 9/0), Mark McKenzie (FC Toulouse/FRA; 22/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 77/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 33/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 50/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 35/3)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 53/9), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 14/3), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 60/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 9/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 39/0), James Sands (FC St. Pauli/GER; 11/0), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 8/0), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER; 25/3)
FORWARDS (6): Patrick Agyemang (Derby County/ENG; 12/5), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco/FRA; 19/6), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 80/32), Tim Weah (Marseille/FRA; 45/7), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 17/5), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 13/2)
Who is absent?
After making a move to Borussia Monchengladbach, Gio Reyna has picked up a thigh injury, which will keep him out of this camp. Reyna hasn’t appeared for the USMNT since March of 2025 in the Concacaf Nations League third place game, and the wait to return will continue. Dest missed out on PSV’s Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen due to an injury and will now be absent from USMNT duty after making his first appearance under Pochettino during the September window. The midfield will miss the calm of Adams who is out while expecting a baby with his wife. Ricardo Pepi also is out with an injury as the list continues to grow for the USMNT.
Despite making appearances for Atalanta after joining from Milan, this camp will come too soon for Yunus Musah who misses out along with Josh Sargent and Joe Scally.
Ever shifting forwards
After calling in Sargent to the last camp, Haji Wright and Patrick Agyemang have made this one, while Sargent will stay with Norwich City. It has been a shifting mixture of who the backup is after Balogun. After making the move to Derby County, Agyemang picked up an injury, but now he’s back, having logged four games for the club while picking up two assists during that time. A breakout performer for the national team under Pochettino, he’s back in the mix in a camp that will be critical if he makes the World Cup squad.
“Haji is scoring goals, Balogun has the continuity with Monaco playing in a regular way, I think Agyemang is now adapting better in his new place in England, and I think he was an important player in the Gold Cup,” Pochettino said. “Then he suffered a small issue, an injury, and he wasn’t available to be selected in the last camp. Now he’s fit again, and that’s why he’s with us, because we believe that it’s a profile that can fit for us and is different from what Haji and Balogun can provide.”
Being able to mix what the different forwards can provide will be critical to what the team can accomplish, changing a match on the fly. With Wright being able to play on the wing, there’s still room for all three and Pepi, but this is a battle that will be something to watch.
Return of the Jedi
After Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson is arguably the most important player to the national team, and he’s now in line to make his first appearance for the squad since the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals in November of 2024. Missing time for club and country due to a knee injury, Robinson has been out of the squad with players like Max Arfsten filling in, but it’s good to have one of the most consistent members of the defense back in the XI. His minutes could be managed during camp, but managed minutes are better than no minutes.
“The good thing is that he played 90 minutes in the cups in the last weeks and then played a few minutes against Aston Villa in the Premier League, but I think it’s a long time that we haven’t seen him for different reasons, and I think that today, because we know that this is an important player for us,” Pochettino said. “I think this is the moment to bring him in. We were talking with his club, and we’re going to try to manage him the best way here, but it’s important that he can be with us as a group and with his teammates.”