Ladies and gentlemen, the United States men’s national team are beginning to seriously worry me. If the “worry scale” was similar to DEFCON then I’d say the USMNT are at DEFCON 3.
U.S. head coach Mauricio Pochettino shocked fans on Tuesday with a bizarre 22-man roster for two September friendlies. Big names like Weston McKennie, Johnny Cardoso, Antonee Robinson, Folarin Balogun, Yunus Musah and Gio Reyna were all left off the roster.
Robinson and Balogun are returning from injury, however the rest were simply left off the roster due to a coaching decision.
USMNT September roster
Set up for September, presented by Allstate!
22 of the 23 roster spots are confirmed, with an additional player to be added at a later date. pic.twitter.com/hrwpqYdxFC— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) August 26, 2025
Over half of the roster (12) featured for the USMNT this summer where they lost 2-1 to Turkey, got obliterated 4-0 by Switzerland and then had a tough Gold Cup that culminated in losing to Mexico in the final
With the World Cup this close it’s time for some brutal honesty. Most of the players from the Gold Cup roster shouldn’t make the final roster for the World Cup. Sure, they can squeak out wins against Costa Rica and Guatemala, but they’re not ready for the biggest stage in the sport.
19th ranked Switzerland proved that point in 36 minutes against the USA’s Gold Cup squad in June with four goals. If they’re getting torched by Switzerland, then what the hell are they going to do against sides like England or Brazil?
36'—USA 0-4 Switzerland
Watch the game on TNT, truTV, and Max pic.twitter.com/EErxN9TZtv— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 11, 2025
This latest roster features a mix of American stars in Major League Soccer and Europe with over half the players being domestic.
When asked about the squad Pochettino said this is the final international window of experimenting with new players.
“We continue to strengthen the squad and narrow in on the pool of players who can help us achieve our goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” Pochettino said.
Fans and pundits online found it concerning that Pochettino doesn’t know who his starting squad is less than one year out from the home World Cup.
This ties back to my biggest concern. Why are we still experimenting with fringe players with only a handful of friendlies before the World Cup? Oh wait, Pochettino clarified it himself.
“Nobody has a place for sure. That is my message. Everyone has to fight,” Pochettino said.
WE ARE 289 DAYS AWAY FROM THE WORLD CUP. WHAT DO YOU MEAN NOBODY HAS A PLACE?!
The USMNT are way past the point of figuring out who needs a spot on the team. With roughly 10 friendlies left to go until the World Cup, Pochettino needs to call upon his most talented players and get some chemistry and a game plan going.
How is this squad supposed to build any sort of cohesion when the rosters are seeing constant change?
Speaking of chemistry, Pochettino also mentioned that he and Christian Pulisic haven’t spoken once since this summer. Pulisic controversially opted out for the 2025 Gold Cup because he wanted rest, but still asked to play in the two friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland.
Pochettino denied Pulisic the opportunity to feature in the summer friendlies.
To recap my stress here.
- The USMNT are still experimenting with players less than a year out
- Big names like Weston McKennie are being left off rosters
- 99% sure Pochettino has no idea what his preferred Starting XI for the USMNT would be
- Pochettino and Pulisic haven’t spoken since this summer’s drama
- Bonus concern: the goalkeeping situation is the worst it’s ever been
I’ll throw in one final Pochettino quote for the hell of it.
“The MLS, in my assessment, is maybe more competitive than some leagues in Europe,” Pochettino said.
