March 13 – United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) boss Mauricio Pochettino (pictured) has announced his 23-player roster for the CONCACAF Nations League finals and it is a squad that has a few surprises, most notably the inclusion of Borussia Dortmund’s Gio Reyna.
Reyna, who was part of the biggest controversy in recent US Soccer history at the 2022 World Cup over playing time, has had a stop-start season with the German outfit.
Pochettino stated that his inclusion was partially due to the fact that Dortmund are participating in the Club World Cup and that they retain the rights to Reyna despite the competition going up against CONCACAF’s Gold Cup.
“It’s true that maybe he’s not playing too much, but I think he’s a great player and we want to consider him,” Pochettino said. “The most important thing is the opportunity to have him 10 days, feeling, connecting and creating a good relationship that can help him and us for the future.”
Tyler Adams, US captain at the 2022 World Cup, also returns to the squad after an excellent season with AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League.
“Adams is a player that we wanted to sign at Chelsea,” Pochettino said. “He’s a very good player, but of course he’ll need to prove that he’s better than the others. It’s good competition in midfield.”
Pochettino has also silenced the doubters that MLS players were not on his radar by including personnel who impressed during the team’s annual January camp and friendly wins against Venezuela and Costa Rica.
Most notable among the January camp holdovers are Vancouver Whitecaps striker Brian White, Charlotte FC striker Patrick Agyemang and Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna.
Of Luna, Pochettino said: “I think he’s a player that we followed from the day that we signed for the US national team. He’s a player that can provide different things during the game and I think it’s important for him to feel the confidence from us.”
Missing from the roster is Leeds United midfield dynamo Brenden Aaronson, who had been a regular starter in recent seasons.
Breaking down the full squad, of the three goalkeepers Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids) and Matt Turner (Crystal Palace) look most likely to battle it out for the number one position, with Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew) providing back-up.
Defensively there are rumours that Pochettino will play a back three. The candidates for the starting roles are Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) and Antonee Robinson (Fulham), who has had an outstanding season for the Cottagers. Celtic duo Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty should provide competition, but Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Marlon Fossey (Standard Liège) and Mark McKenzie (Toulouse) look like they will be there to gain experience.
Pochettino was coy when asked who would start, cautioning that the final call will depend on how players recover from long flights to Los Angeles, how they perform in training and other factors. “It’s going to be first training station, second training station and then decide,” he explained.
In midfield the Argentine has selected Adams, Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luna, Weston McKennie (Juventus), Reyna and Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais).
In the forwards all eyes will be on ‘Captain America’ Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), who has taken to Serie A like a duck to water. He will be joined by clubmate Yunus Musah and fellow Serie A player Timothy Weah (Juventus). Agyemang, Josh Sargent (Norwich City) and White round out the attack.
Of Sargent, Pochettino said: “Always we need to remember that we are talking about a player that is doing really well in Championship. They are not in the first division, but we need our players to know that they are performing well and of course they deserve the opportunity.
“We have [Folarin] Balogun and [Ricardo] Pepi who are not available, so I think to have him, Brian White and of course Patrick Agyemang is good competition.”
For Pochettino, this will be his first big test and a chance to show the American public that that the US Soccer Federation hired the right man after an exhaustive search.
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