Every time an international window rolls around, there are two areas of focus: The players who were selected, and those who weren’t. The former is what usually garners most of the attention. That scale shifts when one of a team’s presumed stars is left off. Such is the case with Mauricio Pochettino’s latest roster for the U.S. men’s national team, and the omission of AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic.
It’s a dynamic that at times has driven Pochettino to distraction. This is a man who once responded to a question about why AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah and Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Joe Scally were left of a USMNT roster with a response about how the media shouldn’t question such decisions unless the player being talked about is Pelé, Diego Maradona or Lionel Messi.
That hasn’t stopped such queries from being directed at the USMNT manager, and such was the case again on Thursday following the release of the U.S. roster for the upcoming FIFA international window. Youngsters like 16-year-old Philadelphia Union attacker Cavan Sullivan and Crystal Palace winger Zavier Gozo were called in, but Pulisic wasn’t.
In many respects, Pulisic’s omission isn’t a surprise. Pochettino’s modus operandi has been to not call up players just returning to full fitness. One example is when Pochettino left a recovering Sergiño Dest off the USMNT roster for the October 2025 international window, only for Dest to start for his club the weekend immediately following the announcement.
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Pulisic is operating under similar circumstances. He sustained a bone bruise and microfracture in his lower leg in the FIFA World Cup defeat to Belgium and has been recovering ever since. He played his first two matches for Milan in the past week, coming on as a halftime sub in matches against Lazio last weekend and against Benfica on Wednesday.
Pochettino’s desire to take a look at younger players also played a part in Pulisic’s absence. The 2030 World Cup cycle is just beginning, and as such Pochettino called in 13 uncapped players. It makes sense in that now is the time for the U.S. manager to give an extended look to the next generation.
When asked on Thursday’s conference call about Pulisic’s omission, Pochettino stressed that aspect.
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“I think after the World Cup, we start to change and to see and to analyze all the players, potential player[s] for this camp,” Pochettino said. “Like always I say, I think the 28 players that are going to be involved in these four games for different circumstances are the best players, or the player that we want to see, and they want to play, that we want to work, and that’s it.”
Pochettino then downshifted, saying he didn’t want to get into further details about why certain players were omitted.
“I think it’s not a point that now, the first camp of this new cycle, start to explain why is one, why is not another, because if not, maybe we spend one hour here all day,” he said. “Why not maybe 100 players that are not in the squad and why are another 28? I think always [the way] we work is to try to call the players that we believe that are the best for this roster for when we analyze all the circumstances and that’s it.
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“I think the most important is, like I [said] one week ago, 10 days ago, [it’s a] fresh start. I think now it’s completely different approach than was in the past. The World Cup is in four years. We need to work with different objectives and goals and for different reasons that [this] roster is the best roster that we can design for this camp.”
Pulisic is by no means the only World Cup player to be omitted from the roster when appearing to be healthy. Marseille defender Timothy Weah has played every minute for his club this season, and wasn’t called in either.
But Pulisic is the most prominent, and the relationship between Pochettino and Pulisic has always appeared to be on the cool side. During a roundtable with reporters on Sept. 7, Pochettino mentioned there were still some bad habits within the program that he wanted to eradicate. When pressed for details, he referenced the 2025 Gold Cup, in which he said players opting out of the tournament out of a desire to get rest was “bulls—.” While Pochettino didn’t mention Pulisic by name, the Milan attacker was the most prominent player who made such a decision.
The comment hints that the U.S. manager hasn’t entirely forgiven Pulisic for that choice, as well as the aftermath, when the player said he “didn’t understand” why Pochettino didn’t want him to come in for two friendlies and then skip the Gold Cup. Pochettino later defended the choice by stating he was the manager, and not “a mannequin.”
Pochettino did add some context to the absence of another prominent player, AS Monaco forward Folarin Balogun, who scored three goals at the last World Cup. Balogun hasn’t featured yet for Monaco this season. That was thought to be tied to the fallout over a proposed move to Everton that the 25-year-old backed out of at the last minute, but Pochettino said that Balogun was in the process of recovering from a minor leg injury.
“I think now [Balogun] is training, I think that last week [he] was training normally and I see if he can play as soon as possible in his club,” Pochettino said.
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The prognosis for Juventus’ Weston McKennie is trending upward, as he recorded his first minutes of the season in Juve’s UEFA Europa League triumph over NEC Nijmegen. But like Pulisic, it comes too late for this window.
As for Pochettino and Pulisic, there’s no rule that says player and manager have to get along. Plenty don’t. There have been moments when Pulisic has thrived under Pochettino, like the World Cup opener against Paraguay, but there will always be a focus on the perceived relationship between star player and manager.
It will be interesting to see how Pochettino manages the situation going forward, starting with the November international window that will feature the quarterfinals of the Concacaf Nations League.
