The simple explanation for Christian Pulisic’s absence from the U.S. national team’s first activities since the World Cup is that he has played a total of 90 minutes over two recent AC Milan matches since returning from summer injuries.
Mauricio Pochettino did not do that.
Instead, he opted to use a stock answer for questions about players who weren’t selected to the 28-man squad for the 16-day camp opening Monday and featuring four friendlies.
By explaining in detail why one player or another wasn’t chosen “maybe we spend one hour here,” he said during a media call Thursday. “Why not maybe 100 players that are not in the squad and why [not] another 28? We work to try to call the players we believe are the best for this roster.”
It’s a perfectly reasonable response for such inquiries about most players. Pulisic is not most players. He was the face of the World Cup squad and, to some extent, the face of a World Cup on home soil.
Christian Pulisic has played 90 total minutes across two AC Milan matches since returning from his World Cup injuries.
By bunching Pulisic in with all the others who didn’t make the list, Pochettino made it clear that, with a full four-year World Cup cycle ahead of him, there are no sacred cows, guaranteed selections or, in this case, an explanation for their absence.
“Fresh start,” Pochettino repeated several times during his call.
“Now is a completely different approach than was in the past,” when he had 18 months to prepare for the World Cup, the 54-year-old Argentine said. “The World Cup is in four years. We need to work with different objectives and goals, and for different reasons, the roster is the roster that is the best roster we can design for this camp.”
Reading between the lines, Pochettino wants Pulisic to earn his way back. The celebrated career overseas, the Champions League medal at Chelsea, the 90 caps and 23 goals for the U.S. … none of that matters now.
Last week, Pochettino took a dig at Pulisic’s decision to skip the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup — the last tournament before the World Cup — to get his body ready for the 2026 competition. “You know now that is bulls***, no?” Pochettino said.
To get back into the squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals in November, Pulisic will need to show he is back in top form at AC Milan. In a highly competitive club environment, playing time there is not guaranteed, especially after his unproductive form the last half of the 2025-26 Serie A campaign and after returning from the World Cup injury.
When Pulisic is at the top of his game, there is no one like him in American soccer. But he wasn’t at the top of his game during the World Cup, though in fairness, he was battling injuries. And unless he is playing regularly at Milan, he is not going to get back to his ultimate level.
Meantime, Pochettino wants to test fresh, young talent on the flanks: Mathis Albert (Borussia Dortmund), Zavier Gozo (Crystal Palace) and Cole Campbell (Elversberg) are among numerous newcomers for the matches against Peru on Sept. 26 in Orlando, Chile on Sept. 29 in St. Louis, Mexico on Oct. 3 in Greater Phoenix and Canada on Oct. 6 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
“If these guys are here and perform in the way we expect, they are going to have the opportunity maybe to keep playing,” Pochettino said. “Everyone says that name needs to be here because the past performance [they] score goals. No, no. Now it’s a fresh start. It’s a new style. Of course, all have the door open, but now it’s not what I did in the past. … Now, it’s about today. Football is about today. Soccer is about today, and that is the way we want to build that cycle.”
Cavan Sullivan, who turns 17 later this month, is the youngest player in camp.
, 16, arrives
Pochettino spoke last week about bringing along some young players more slowly than others and not overwhelming them with responsibilities and expectations.
He had no such concerns about calling up the youngest member of the 28-man roster, Cavan Sullivan, a Philadelphia Union phenom turning 17 late this month.
“He deserves to be with us, and it’s going to be a great opportunity for us to [get to] know him,” Pochettino said. “He is special … playing at a very high level. Now it’s another challenge [and he] needs to adapt to another level – international competition with international players. The most important thing is we need to have a clear idea how to provide the best platform for him to evolve every day.”
Sullivan, who began his international tenure with the U.S. under-15s in 2023, is the latest in a long line of teenagers introduced to the senior national team early in their careers, following Landon Donovan, DaMarcus Beasley, Jozy Altidore, Gio Reyna, Pulisic and several others.
Pochettino’s long-term focus is on the 2030 World Cup, but he’s also been tasked with preparing young players for the 2028 Olympics, which is restricted to those 23 and under, with three overage exceptions.
Because of the age limit, Olympic men’s soccer is not a major tournament on the international calendar. However, with the U.S. receiving an automatic berth as the host team for the LA Games, the U.S. Soccer Federation has raised the importance of performing well.
Steve Cherundolo, a former U.S. World Cup player and Los Angeles FC coach, will guide the Olympic squad.
The USSF’s negotiations with Pochettino about extending his contract through 2030 included contributing to the Olympic effort by preparing players through senior call-ups. Much of Thursday’s roster is eligible for the 2028 competition.
“The country loves the Olympic Games,” Pochettino said. “We know it’s going to be important for soccer and we are going to present a very competitive team.”
In other words, the strategy will allow Pochettino to get a first-hand look at potential players for the 2030 World Cup while bolstering the Olympic effort.
FIFA’s new four-match window over more than two weeks — instead of a two-game set in nine days in September and a separate two-game block in October — fits into Pochettino’s plans to develop young players.
“It’s a great opportunity to bring new players, players with potential, with the possibility to spend more time training, more time together,” he said.
is back
Yunus Musah, a 2022 World Cup starter, missed out on this year’s tournament because he did not fit into Pochettino’s plans during the 18-month buildup and because his loan to Atalanta from AC Milan last season was a bust.
Now, the 23-year-old midfielder is back at Milan — and playing at Milan — which paved the way to his national team return.
“Yunus is like everyone,” Pochettino said. “The door is open for everyone. Now it’s a new start. It’s a new cycle. It’s not what happened one year ago, one year and a half ago, what happened in the World Cup.”
Pochettino, however, did not afford such an opportunity this window for those playing regularly in Europe who didn’t make the World Cup cut either: Atlético Madrid‘s Johnny Cardoso, Olympique Lyonnais‘ Tanner Tessmann and Middlesbrough’s Aidan Morris.
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