Don’t Be Cruel: USA’s Pochettino on How He’ll Handle World Cup Roster Cuts

CHESTER, Penn. — Landon Donovan sat on the shower floor and bawled his eyes out. Jeff Agoos burned his U.S. National Team uniform. Brian Ching headed straight to a hotel lobby bar, intent on drowning his sorrows.All three men were among the last players cut from an American World Cup roster, a devastating blow that each will surely carry with them — despite all making at least one other U.S. roster for soccer’s signature event — for the rest of their lives.Agoos, who had 134 caps in a career that was otherwise exemplary, said that despite a year-and a-half of physical and psychological hardship, he didn’t make the 1994 team. It was his biggest disappointment. Jeff Agoos was among the previous USMNT superstars who were left out of World Cup rosters.  Ching went to the 2006 World Cup in Germany but didn’t play. The forward appeared in the USMNT’s first send-off game in 2010 before then-manager Bob Bradley delivered the bad news.Donovan had made 156 international appearances and scored five World Cup goals — more than soccer The greats Lionel Messi & Cristiano Ronaldo were combined together at that time. But back in 2014, then-USMNT coach Jürgen Klinsmann pulled Donovan aside after training at Stanford University to inform the 32-year-old playmaker that he wouldn’t be among the 23 Americans going to Brazil. Donovan retired four years after his historic strike against Algeria, which won the U.S. a World Cup group in history for the first ever. soccer Mauricio pochettino, the current USMNT coach, wants to avoid a similar scenario in May when he submits to FIFA his 26-man final list for the World Cup 2026 on home soil. As much as Pochettino would like to invite a larger group to compete for the final few spots at next spring’s pre-tournament training camp in Atlanta, the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain coach on Friday suggested that he’s already decided against it. “It’s hard when you bring in more than 26 [players] Then you will need to tell [them] on the last day you are out,” Pochettino told reporters on Friday at the practice facility of MLS club Philaldephia Union, a day before the USMNT meets Paraguay in 2025’s penultimate World Cup tuneup.”I prefer [to do things in a] Pochettino added that if something happens, you call someone. Pochettino continued, “And if something happened, you call somebody.” In only 14 months, Pochettino summoned a staggering 71 players. The 55 players he considers the best must be selected for the World Cup provisional roster. The 26-man final list will be made up of the names from that first list. Several members of the 2022 squad that reached the round of 16 in Qatar are bubble players at best this time around — midfielders Yunus Musah and Gio Reyna, striker Josh Sargent and defender Joe Scally among them. With projected starters such as midfielder Tyler Adams, forward Christian Pulisic, center-back Chris Richards, left-back Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and midfielder Weston McKennie all missing for Saturday’s contest and Tuesday’s game against Uruguay, this window might represent the last and best chance for the understudies to stake their claim for a roster spot.The World Cup-bound Paraguayans won’t be easy for the shorthanded Americans to beat. “It’s a team that is very competitive,” Pochettino said when I asked him what his side could expect from La Albirroja. “It’s a great test for us. Even if it is the first game we will play with this 11-man starting lineup.”The USMNT’s World Cup hopefuls are well aware of the stakes.Tim Ream, a 38-year old center-back who spoke to reporters before the team’s Friday practice said: “There’s more bite in training.” “There is more aggression. They are all doing their best to become a member of the team. You can see it more as we get closer. This is a positive thing. “Guys are eager to be part of the team, and be part of an home World Cup.” On the other hand, if they fall short it will be even worse. Pochettino doesn’t want to crush the dreams of those he can’t take any more than necessary.Pochettino explained that if you start by saying, “OK, this is the 26,” it is a shock. “But you accept this. [it].  But after, to be involved and then to go home — I think it’s more cruel in that situation.Pochettino continued, “It is easier for me to have more players called than 26.” “But, I think that I should think about the human and decide to not be cruel. Because when you train, you train, you train and you go home, it’s tough.”Doug McIntyre has a tough personality. soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him on Twitter @ByDougMcIntyre. Want the best stories delivered to your mailbox? Follow leagues, players and teams to receive a daily personalized newsletter! Create or log into your FOX Sports Account to get started. FOLLOW FOLLOW your favorites to customize your FOX Sports experience
2025-11-15 00:25:55