Some of the program’s biggest names returned to the US men’s national team in the roster announced by Mauricio Pochettino on Wednesday morning – familiar faces like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun, who for various reasons missed out on the squad’s September/October camp.
But in his words to reporters during a subsequent media availability, the Yanks’ head coach made clear that his focus on up-and-coming young talents will continue. Eight of that last camp’s unprecedented 13 newcomers have been called back, among them half a dozen of MLS’s brightest starlets, for this month’s two-legged Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal series vs. Haiti, the USMNT’s first competitive matches since the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“We need to add players to the roster to try to provide a good balance to the team, and then to be sure that we are going to compete at our best and try to win games,” said Pochettino. “At the same time, in a parallel way, I think an important thing that we need to know is to develop, and to try to help and to grow all these young players.
“It's a great opportunity for different players now, and in a different roster that was in the last camp, to have the possibility to mix younger with experienced players.”
MLS movement
Teenagers again litter this squad, headlined by Red Bull New York’s homegrown duo of Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti, Philadelphia Union wunderkinds Cavan Sullivan and Neil Pierre and Orlando City attacker Justin Ellis, as well as Borussia Dortmund winger and former LA Galaxy prospect Mathis Albert. Now they’ll get a chance to form on-field understanding with the likes of Pulisic, the USMNT icon who seems fit and firing with Italian giants AC Milan.
“We are not going to have too many moments in this way,” said Pochettino. “It's a great opportunity for testing the feelings and the chemistry between them.”
Nashville SC goalkeeper Brian Schwake returns as well after making his international debut vs. Chile on Sept. 29, and while he’s an old man by comparison at 25, he’s accompanied by another fresh face in his club teammate Reed Baker-Whiting (21), the Seattle Sounders homegrown product who has turned heads as a dynamic fullback for MLS’s regular-season champions.
It’s worth noting how many of these rising standouts are eligible to play for multiple nations through their family heritage. While ‘Poch’ has previously said he wouldn't give undue attention to this aspect of recruitment, preferring players passionate about representing the United States, those who appear in either match vs. Haiti could be cap-tied to the USMNT.
“When he was with us, he was really excited to play for us, to play for the badge, to play for USA,” said the coach when asked about Hall, who can play for both the US and Poland, his mother’s homeland.
Much the same goes for Mehmeti with Albania, Ellis with Uruguay, Pierre with Haiti and Albert with France and Germany. “In the end, the most important is how he performs, he acts, the commitment with that.”
Expanding the pool
Pochettino also made sure to shout out some other young’uns who didn’t make the cut this time, underscoring his enthusiasm for the ongoing process of refreshing the player pool at the dawn of the 2030 World Cup cycle.
“Like Mathis, like Cavan, like Ellis, Justin, or Adri, or Brooklyn [Raines] or Cole [Campbell] or Neil or all these young players – how important they can be for us, no?” he said. “And in the future, not only in the present.”
Pochettino noted that Hall and Ellis, for example, got the nod ahead of Ricardo Pepi due to the FC Dallas alumni’s recent injury issues at Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven. And both stand a good chance of earning minutes ahead of Balogun at the striker position, due to the World Cup standout’s limited playing time at club level with AS Monaco, in the aftermath of a move to English Premier League side Everton falling through in highly dramatic fashion in the final hours of the summer transfer window.
“Justin and Julian, they are fully fit,” Pochettino explained, “so they go a little bit ahead.”
The message to his veterans was unmistakable: Keep earning your place for both club and country, or one of the kids might take it from you.
“It's very important for us to add more options, more players with the possibility to challenge the familiar faces,” said Poch. “It's very open. The national team is open.
"We are following more than 100 players, plenty of players that maybe they didn't have the chance, but I think it's important now. And I think for us, it's really important to give the chance to those players, because I think they deserve it, and then because it's really important to test them playing in official games.”
Upward climb
Pochettino now recognizes the pathway his young charges can traverse from MLS to some of the sport’s biggest stages, too. Speaking about Orlando product Alex Freeman, who’s turning heads as an all-action fullback with Spanish side Villarreal, he applauded the development work being done to prepare future USMNTers.
“We are seeing the capacity of the MLS clubs and coaches and all the structure in different clubs, how they are doing so well,” he said. “Because I think from outside of the USA, I have the possibility to travel, to be in Europe, be in USA, and how the people start to see the quality, the capacity of the players, start to give a lot of value to the American player, but also they are very interested in the way that all the clubs and the federation work in USA.
“They deserve big credit, because of all the talents that are appearing,” Pochettino added. “Last week I was watching all the leagues in my house, and appeared one goal from [the English] Championship, from Premier League, from LaLiga, from Bundesliga – it's all American players, performing … That [speaks] very highly about the quality of the people who are working in MLS, and that I want to keep pushing, keep really believing, and that is good to be part of that.”
