The key to Mauricio Pochettino's 'fresh start' USMNT might just be an old favorite

A regular starter for AC Milan. An athlete coach Ruben Amorim saw, mentored and worked hard to retain despite strong interest from other clubs. A midfield partner to the legendary Luka Modric. The most prominent American player in Serie A throughout the 2026-27 season without question.

You'd be forgiven for thinking that description sums up Christian Pulisic, the public face of the U.S. Men's National Team, but it doesn't. Pulisic has been nursing an injury since this summer's World Cup and he hasn't yet played a starting role for Milan this season. No, it sums up someone else, someone you may have forgotten in the midst of 2026's Summer of Soccer: Yunus Musah, the 23-year-old midfield phenom whose surprise absence from the USMNT's World Cup preparations led many to believe his national team career was over.

It shouldn't be. Yes, Musah struggled to impose himself on coach Mauricio Pochettino's USMNT during the World Cup cycle, and yes, he had a frustrating 2025-26 season on loan with Atalanta that threw his fitness into question. But Musah has bounced back in a big way, earning himself a key role in Amorim's Champions League-chasing Milan side against the odds. Musah started just five matches for Atalanta in Serie A last season. He's started—and played the full 90 minutes—in all three of Milan's opening matches in this one.

He's looked great doing so, too. He's one of Serie A's top midfielders for recoveries and duel wins and he's earned his spot in the center of Milan's system. Could his Italian renaissance earn Musah another shot at Pochettino's USMNT this fall? Or will last year's difficulties prove too much for Musah to overcome in the eyes of his coach?

Musah's initial promise

When Pochettino first took over the USMNT in the fall of 2024, it was Musah—then still a young, raw product—who felt like a foundational player for his project. Associated with team regulars like Tyler Adams, Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie but considerably younger than any of them, Musah was the kind of player you could build a team around, and crucially, he was one who was almost always fit. (He's had just one availability hiccup in 18 months: a brief bout with the flu.) 

Pochettino started Musah in his first game in charge—a 2-0 friendly win over Panama—and saw his potential immediately. Musah scored the first goal of the Pochettino era and went on to feature in the next four official USMNT starting lineups, culminating in his appearance in a 1-0 loss to Panama in the Nations League semifinals in March of 2025. 

From there, though, Musah all but disappeared from Pochettino's radar. He missed the starting eleven in the USMNT's Nations League third-place match against Canada a few days later; he fell out of the roster entirely for every single one of the USMNT's camps after that.