U.S. Gold Cup roster missing several big names, including Christian Pulisic

U.S. Gold Cup roster missing several big names, including Christian Pulisic

With the World Cup a year away, a U.S. men’s national soccer team in urgent need of a strong performance at this summer’s Concacaf Gold Cup will need to do so without several key players, including star forward Christian Pulisic.

Pulisic and AC Milan teammate Yunus Musah as well as Antonee Robinson, Tim Weah, Weston McKennie and Gio Reyna were not included on Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 27-man roster for training camp ahead of what will be the final tournament before the World Cup is staged in North America.

The absences of Weah, McKennie and Reyna were expected because their European teams will compete in the Club World Cup, which overlaps with the Gold Cup.

Pulisic, though, needs rest after consecutive club seasons in which he played almost nonstop, U.S. officials said. With the 26-year-old forward expected to figure prominently for Milan again in 2025-26, Pochettino took into account Pulisic’s well-being at this time next year.

“Many people can say it’s really important for us to be all together for the last time [in a tournament] before the World Cup,” Pochettino said. “But always we always listen to the player, and then, of course, we take the decision. … We decided the best for him, the best for the team, the best for the national team is the decision that we make.”

U.S. Soccer Federation Sporting Director Matt Crocker said in a statement Pulisic approached the organization about “the possibility of stepping back this summer.”

Crocker also said, “The objective is to ensure he’s fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season.”

Pulisic is expected to make his 50th appearance of the club season across all competitions this weekend for Milan, equaling his career high, set in 2023-24. He has recorded a personal-best 17 goals.

Musah withdrew for personal reasons, Pochettino said. The other notable absences are a mix of injuries, fatigue and Pochettino’s desire to test other players. But the Argentine coach also seemed to send a message that players need to embrace his plans and believe in the team culture he is seeking to establish.

U.S. Soccer Federation sporting director Matt Crocker said in a statement that Christian Pulisic approached the organization about “the possibility of stepping back this summer.” (Spada/LaPresse via AP)

The roster surprises come after poor U.S. performances at the Concacaf Nations League finals in March and last summer’s Copa América, the latter of which happened before Pochettino’s hiring.

“I don’t like to punish,” Pochettino said when asked whether he was trying to shake things up. “It’s important for us also to find [a] different solution or try to find [a] different way to approach. And one of the things is to give [the] possibility to maybe different players.”

Robinson is dealing with an injury that led him to withdraw from the Nations League finals, though he did continue to play for Fulham in the Premier League. (U.S. service threatened to aggravate his ailments in the stretch run of Fulham’s season.)

Others Europe-based absences include defenders Joe Scally, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty; midfielder Tanner Tessmann; and forward Josh Sargent.

Midfielder Johnny Cardoso, who is in top form with Spanish club Real Betis, is on the U.S. roster but would have to withdraw if, as reported, he transfers to Atlético Madrid, which is also playing in the Club World Cup.

Players are typically released from club obligations to play for their country, but FIFA waived that rule this year so teams participating in the Club World Cup would be at full strength.

Sixteen invitees are from MLS teams, an unusually high number for a significant tournament close to the World Cup.

Pochettino invited five players who have never appeared in a U.S. match: Matt Freese, Damion Downs, Alex Freeman, Quinn Sullivan and Sebastian Berhalter, son of former U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter. All play in MLS except Downs, a 20-year-old forward who helped Cologne earn promotion to the German Bundesliga.

Sebastian Berhalter plays for the Vancouver Whitecaps. (Rich Lam/Getty Images)

“It’s important [to evaluate players] that can challenge in one year time,” Pochettino said. “To create this competition on this squad is very, very important.”

Pochettino is also looking to create a stronger culture in which “people are desperate to come but desperate to perform.”

He added: “If you arrive to the camp and you want to spend a nice time, play golf, go for a dinner, see my family, see my friend. That is the culture we want to create? No no, no, no, no. What we want to do is to go to the national team, arrive and be focused and spend all my focus and energy in the national team.

“If we want to be good in one year time, we need to think that today is the important day because we need to build from today — not to arrive [and] say, ‘Okay, I wait, I wait, I wait.’ No, it’s the World Cup in one year, in six months, in one month, and then it’s [too] late. That is why it’s important to have [a] different approach.”

“I don’t like to punish,” Mauricio Pochettino said, when asked if he was trying to shake things up. (Fernando Carranza/Reuters)

The Gold Cup will mark the return of standout right back Sergiño Dest, who hasn’t played for the U.S. team since March 2024 because of an ACL injury, and forward Folarin Balogun, who has recovered from a shoulder injury that kept him out of the national team since September.

The Americans will open Group D on June 15 against Trinidad and Tobago in San Jose, then face Saudi Arabia on June 19 in Austin and Haiti on June 22 in Arlington, Texas. Their archrival, Mexico, is the defending champion.

The 16-team competition is the biennial championship for North and Central America and the Caribbean — Saudi Arabia, a major tournament sponsor, was also invited — and this year doubles as a primer for the World Cup, which will take place primarily at U.S. venues, plus Mexico and Canada.

Training camp will open June 1 in Chicago. The deadline to submit the 26-man Gold Cup roster is June 4. The U.S. team will play friendlies against Turkey on June 7 in East Hartford, Connecticut, and Switzerland on June 10 in Nashville.

U.S. roster

Goalkeepers: Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace).

Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), DeJuan Jones (San Jose Earthquakes), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati).

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus).

Forwards: Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Damion Downs (Cologne), Brian White (Vancouver), Haji Wright (Coventry City).