Mauricio Pochettino announced his first USMNT roster since the World Cup, and the biggest surprise was the absence of Christian Pulisic, who is not among the 28 players called up for the Stars and Stripes’ upcoming friendlies, and the inclusion of 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan.
The Argentine coach explained that this new era must be approached with different goals in mind, looking ahead to the 2030 World Cup. However, he declined to provide details regarding the decision to leave out the AC Milan forward.
“This isn’t the time—now, at the first training camp of this new cycle—to start explaining why one player is selected and another isn’t,” Pochettino said during an online press conference from New York.
Pulisic, who turns 28 on Friday, did not have the World Cup he had hoped for. He did not score in the tournament, missed one of the five matches due to a calf injury, and was substituted early in two others. In addition, he was taken out in the second half of the loss to Belgium in the round of 16 due to a microfracture in his right tibia and fibula. The forward finally made his debut this season with AC Milan last weekend.
Sullivan, the Big Surprise
Among the players called up is 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan, who could become the youngest U.S. player to make his national team debut in two decades.
The Philadelphia Union player made his MLS debut at age 14 in July 2024 and will be just two days shy of his 17th birthday when the U.S. team faces Peru. If he plays, he could break the record set by Freddy Adu, who made his debut at age 16 and 234 days against Canada on January 22, 2006.
“I think he deserves all the praise he’s receiving because he’s performing well, he’s playing well, he’s setting up goals and scoring them,” Pochettino said. “It’s special because he’s 16 years old and he’s playing at this level in MLS.”
Sullivan was in the stands during the World Cup loss to Belgium. In early September, on Alexi Lalas’s “State of the Union” podcast, he admitted that he had imagined how he might have helped the team in that match.
Musah returns, and 13 potential US debutants
Yunus Musah is also part of the roster. The AC Milan midfielder, a member of the U.S. team at the 2022 World Cup, hasn’t played for the national team since March 2025.
The roster includes 13 players who have not yet made their debut for the United States. In addition to Sullivan, the list features midfielders Adri Mehmeti and Mathis Albert, both 17, and defenders Peyton Miller and Neil Pierre, both 18. The other potential debutants are Julian Hall, Zavier Gozo, Justin Ellis, Diego Kochen, Frankie Westfield, Cole Campbell, Brooklyn Raines, and Brian Schwake.
The United States will play four friendly matches during this training camp: against Peru on September 26 in Orlando; Chile on September 29 in St. Louis; Mexico on October 3 in Glendale, Arizona; and Canada on October 6 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Of the 26 players who went to the World Cup, only 13 have been called up again for this squad. Among them are Matt Freese, Chris Brady, Sergiño Dest, Antonee Robinson, Tyler Adams, Gio Reyna, Malik Tillman, and Ricardo Pepi.
Also left off the roster are Folarin Balogun, who has not played for Monaco this season, as well as Matt Turner, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Alejandro Zendejas, and other members of the World Cup squad.
Twelve of the players called up come from MLS, in a roster that combines experience, youth, and several new faces as Pochettino begins his new era.
United States Roster
Goalkeepers: Chris Brady, Matt Freese, Diego Kochen, and Brian Schwake.
Defenders: George Campbell, Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Peyton Miller, Neil Pierre, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty, and Frankie Westfield.
Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Mathis Albert, Sebastian Berhalter, Zavier Gozo, Adri Mehmeti, Yunus Musah, Brooklyn Raines, Gio Reyna, and Malik Tillman.
Forwards: Cole Campbell, Justin Ellis, Julian Hall, Ricardo Pepi, and Cavan Sullivan.
