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Who's in and who's out for new USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino?
USA midfielder Aidan Morris. Katie Stratman-Imagn Images

Who's in and who's out for new USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino?

By Alyssa Clang  |  Last updated Oct 3, 2024 3:20 PM ET

Mauricio Pochettino's U.S. Men's National Team era is set to begin with a pair of friendlies against some regular CONCACAF foes. 

The Americans will take on Panama—the team that functionally eliminated them from the Copa America this summer—on Saturday, Oct. 12 before facing Mexico a few days later in Guadalajara. After failing to win either of its friendlies against Canada and New Zealand last September, the pressure is on for the USMNT to perform.

Pochettino announced his 25-man squad for both friendlies this week. It's his first official USMNT squad since joining the team a few weeks ago. Many familiar faces are included, like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Ream, but Pochettino made some surprising inclusions and exclusions that shed light on the kind of team he hopes to build.

Who's in? Who's out? And what do those decisions tell us about Pochettino's USMNT?

In: Goalies Zack Steffen and Patrick Schulte

Matt Turner's job as the USMNT's starting goalkeeper has been under threat since his shaky appearances in the Copa America and move to Crystal Palace last summer. Is he still the right man to stand between the sticks for the USMNT? Pochettino's first big job as coach is to answer that question by pitting Turner against the best young American goalkeepers in friendlies like these.

There's no shortage of American goalkeeping talent around the world, but Pochettino has found his men in Major League Soccer. Zack Steffen bounced back from a rough spell at Manchester City to make the playoffs with the Colorado Rapids this season while Schulte is a defending MLS Cup champion with the Columbus Crew. MLS has always been a strong goalkeeping league and it's great to see Pochettino taking advantage of it.

Out: Midfielder Luca de la Torre

de la Torre was one of the few bright spots of the USMNT's September friendlies. When Yunus Musah underperformed against New Zealand and got hooked at halftime, de la Torre's introduction changed the complexion of the game and helped the USMNT find its footing again.

Musah's performance in September was rough, there's no getting around it. But Musah's inclusion in this new USMNT lineup — at the expense of de la Torre — is a clear sign that Pochettino intends to invest in him instead of replacing him with a young challenger. That's bad news for de la Torre, who is off to a spotty start to his league season in Spain. It may be a while before we see him in USMNT colors again.

In: Midfielder Aidan Morris

Pochettino called up Aidan Morris as a backfill for the still-injured Tyler Adams. It's been a big year for Morris: he won the 2023 MLS Cup with the Columbus Crew, earned a big-money move to Middlesbrough in the English Championship and got his USMNT senior debut. At just 22 years old, Morris's best soccer is still ahead of him, but he's proven himself to be wise beyond his years in his seven appearances with the national team thus far. Pochettino was right to keep an eye on him.

Out: Forwards Brandon  Vazquez, Alex Zendejas and Cade Cowell 

The USMNT is playing Mexico in Mexico during this international break, so it's wild that Pochettino didn't call up a single American player based in Liga MX. Vazquez, Zendejas and Cowell are three talented young strikers who have all been called up to the USMNT within the past 18 months. They're regular starters for their Mexican club teams, too, but none of them were deemed strong enough to play for the U. S. on Mexican soil. It feels like an odd choice from Pochettino, especially when you consider that some of the strikers he did call up—Tim Weah in particular—aren't getting regular minutes for their European teams. Bringing any one of Vazquez, Zendejas or Cowell could've been an easy P. R. win and a great way to drum up interest in the USMNT-Mexico match...but Pochettino wasn't interested.

The USMNT will face Panama in Austin, Texas on Saturday, Oct. 12. It will face Mexico in Guadalajara on Tuesday, Oct. 15.

Alyssa Clang

Alyssa is a Boston-born Californian with a passion for global sport. She can yell about misplaced soccer passes in five languages and rattle off the turns of Silverstone in her sleep. You can find her dormant Twitter account at @alyssaclang, but honestly, you’re probably better off finding her here

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