U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino called upon several mainstays for the group’s Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal tie against Jamaica which will mark the first competitive matches for the team since Pochettino took the job.
Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah lead the way on a veteran-heavy roster that is fairly similar to the one that took part in Pochettino’s first games last month, a win over Panama and a loss to Mexico. Weah will work with the new head coach for the first time after missing October’s games with a minor injury, though Pochettino will be without several high-profile players like Gio Reyna, Josh Sargent and Folarin Balogun, who will miss this month’s games with injuries of their own.
The USMNT will first play Jamaica at Kingston’s Independence Park on Nov. 14 before hosting them at St. Louis’ Energizer Park four days later.
Here’s a closer look at the roster.
USMNT roster
GOALKEEPERS (4): Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona Atletic/ESP; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 29/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 47/0)
DEFENDERS (7): Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 15/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 64/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 23/1) Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 48/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 30/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 17/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 3/0)
MIDFIELDERS (8): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 46/8), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 15/1), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 17/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 56/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 9/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 43/1), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 4/0), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 16/0)
FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (Guadalajara/MEX; 10/1), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 31/11), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 74/31), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey/MEX; 9/4), Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 41/6), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 9/1)
Injuries impact selection
Weah is back in the mix for the first time after being a late scratch for the October friendlies, and the same is true for Chris Richards and Johnny Cardoso. Weah, notably, will not be available for Thursday’s game in Jamaica, as he is serving the final game of the suspension he earned during the Copa America group stages. He will be with the team in Orlando until they leave for Kingston on Wednesday, and then meet them in St. Louis when they return to the U.S. on Friday.
Several notable players are still out of the picture, though – Balogun and Reyna miss camp for the second month in a row, while Sargent recently underwent surgery for a groin injury that will keep him out for two months. Haji Wright was also a las minute scratch from the team, per Pochettino.
Midfielder Tyler Adams has finally returned from a back injury with a string of games for Bournemouth, including his first start this season in Saturday’s loss to Brentford. He has not been included in the roster, though, with the Nations League quarterfinals coming too soon for him, though Pochettino admitted he’s a big fan of the midfielder.
“We know very well we need to look after him, to have [him] in the best condition for 2026,” he said during a press conference on Sunday. “I know very well him because I think it’s public that we wanted to sign him in Chelsea. When we arrived in Chelsea, I remember that in USA, in Chicago, we had a conversation. We knew and after, the club didn’t sign him because he was injured. That is why, in the end, we cannot but we already know and we know how important but we need to provide the good platform for him to get [to] his best.”
Comings and goings
Pochettino rewarded Tanner Tessman, Brandon Vazquez and Alex Zendejas with call-ups this time around after the trio made the most of their minutes last month, an especially impressive thing considering they were last-minute additions to the roster in October. They are not the only fringe players to earn a vote of confidence by being selected for this month’s games – forward Cade Cowell and goalkeeper Diego Kochen are also getting their first looks by Pochettino.
The new head coach, though, did opt to leave a few players at home after seeing them a month ago. Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath was excluded from this month’s roster, and so were defenders Marlon Fossey and Kristoffer Lund. Fossey and Lund’s exclusions technically leave the USMNT a bit short in their fullback positions, with only Antonee Robinson and Joe Scally looking like the obvious options there. Pochettino said he made that decision because he wanted more midfielders and forwards in the roster, but also because he felt the team had options elsewhere.
“I think today, football in the last few years, you see the teams like Manchester City, Arsenal and company, I think we can see that a center back can play like a fullback,” he said. “Tim Ream, yesterday [in Charlotte FC’s MLS Cup Playoffs game against Orlando City], was playing like a fullback. For me, he’s a center back but he was playing the left fullback. He can play. Depends on the dynamics of the game … I think we all agree that Yunus Musah can play wingback, maybe right back. Against Real Madrid [in Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League match], he performed in a fantastic way and they won the game with [AC] Milan. I think he’s another player that can perform there, can play.”
