Key takeaways from the USMNT's crucial September roster

Christian Pulisic is back ... but with some conditions

Christian Pulisic dropped out of the USMNT lineup this summer due to fatigue. If Pulisic had kept quiet about things and focused on his recovery, his absence would've been frustrating but understandable ... but that's not what happened. "Captain America" went on the media offensive to defend his decision, and his less-than-tactful approach wound up creating a rift between him and the USMNT faithful. 

Two months later, Pulisic is back, but he's back in rather unique circumstances. While he made the USMNT cut, his closest friends on the team — midfielders Yunus Musah, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna — did not, despite being healthy and available for selection. Pochettino was quick to tell the press that their absences were unrelated, and there's no reason to believe he isn't telling the truth ... but their absences create a fascinating test case for Pulisic's tense return. 

He will have to prove his team spirit and follow Pochettino's instructions: he won't have his closest team allies there to back him up if he doesn't.

Familiarity, playing time prioritized over eye-catching transfers

Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna earned plenty of international attention during his star turn at the Gold Cup this summer, but despite interest from big clubs abroad, he stayed put in MLS. 

"When it comes to moving teams with such a small amount of time coming into the World Cup, it’s difficult," he told The Athletic. "You don’t know where you’re going to play, when you’re going to break through, how you’re going to make it work, or if it’s just going to stall for six, eight months. You don’t know if you have that type of time right now."

It's an excellent point, and a prescient one given this new USMNT roster. Of all the players who changed clubs this summer, just one, Marseille's Tim Weah, made the cut for Pochettino. The rest, including the likes of goalkeeper Matt Turner, midfielder Johnny Cardoso and forward Patrick Agyemang, were passed over in favor of players who stayed put.

Pochettino has made it very clear that he values consistency and playing time over the glitz and glamor of big European clubs, and that's never been more apparent than it is right now. 

Luna made the right decision here. Other USMNT stars on the verge of an international breakthrough should follow his wise example.

MLS is working hard to make Pochettino's job easier

The most fascinating — and oddly heartwarming — thing to come out of Pochettino's USMNT roster for September was his full-throated support for the coaches within MLS.

"To have this contact with all the MLS teams and coaching staff and coaches, I really appreciate that," Pochettino said. "I want to say thank you to all the coaches and clubs who are so supportive with us.

"I am so grateful that the coaches are open and there's the possibility to talk about how they see the players. It's information that is priceless to us."

Pochettino went one step further, highlighting just how competitive he thinks MLS is these days. 

"I think for me, we need to open another way to see things. We need to give MLS value, because competing there, players can show that they can perform in the national team," he said.

"I think it's not necessary to move from MLS to Europe, because sometimes MLS, under my general assessment, is more competitive than some leagues in Europe."

This is the last window for the USMNT to experiment with fresh faces before the World Cup

Pochettino dropped an interesting nugget of information when he dropped this September roster: After multiple cycles of experimentation, he's done selecting new faces for the USMNT. 

"This camp, for us, is the last camp that we are going to bring new faces," he said. 

That means that the eight games between October and June — the final eight games before the World Cup kicks off — should be exclusively focused on preparation for the tournament.

 All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.