Several times over the course of his press conference on Tuesday, U.S. men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino invoked the idea of “trust” to describe his selection process for the team that will compete for a fourth consecutive Concacaf Nations League trophy next week.
The trust earned by players like forward Patrick Agyemang during January camp. The trust he wanted to return to players like Diego Luna, to build the confidence and belief in a player who showed well in January and now will get his first shot with the full team. The trust and relationship he wanted to build with a player like Gio Reyna, who got his first call-up under Pochettino despite struggling for minutes and form at Borussia Dortmund; and Tyler Adams, who similarly will get his first look after returning from a back injury.
Ultimately, it’s in the trust of communicating what Pochettino and his staff want from the team — and that the players can understand and execute those core tenets.
“It’s clear that many of the players here have won this competition,” Pochettino said. “And you always lose a little bit of hunger when you win, right? In this case we want to keep that hunger and try to instill in the players that you have to keep winning. You have to keep competing and keep winning.”
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The U.S. will have two opportunities to compete for trophies between now and next summer’s World Cup. Both are Concacaf competitions: this spring’s Nations League and the summer’s Gold Cup. It put more value on this roster and its coveted roster spots.
A few familiar names were left off the team. Alejandro Zendejas is in top form at Club America in Liga MX, with five goals and five assists in the Clausura so far. He also scored two goals and had two assists in December’s Apertura semis and finals and was probably the biggest surprise snub if only because of his form. Brenden Aaronson, who was part of the 2022 World Cup roster, was also left off. Others on the outside looking in included center back Miles Robinson and midfielder Aidan Morris.
Pochettino said it’s down to the increased competition at each spot. Asked specifically about Aaronson, he shed some light on the depth chart.
“Brenden we know very well, but we decided to bring other players in that place,” Pochettino said. “We have players in that position like Gio Reyna, Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Diego Luna. Too many players for only one position. The (idea) was to provide balance. … We (are talking) about him, but we can talk about many other players that were in the preliminary list.”
The answer reinforced the obvious. For every player who misses out on a team, there’s another player given a chance to prove they belong. Pochettino called six players who were a part of January camp and will now get a chance to validate their place among the senior squad in the biggest international windows.
That includes Luna and Agyemang. “(Diego is) a player we followed from the day we signed with the USA national team,” Pochettino said. “We want to give another possibility. … I think it’s important for him to feel confidence from us, and I think he was good in the January camp and we want to provide the possibility to train with us again.
Patrick Agyemang, center, was a star of January camp for the U.S. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
“Talking about Patrick he’s still a little bit raw, a player that you can feel that he can evolve and learn a lot,” Pochettino continued. “But the potential and the characteristics, if he continues his progression, we can talk about in the future a very good striker. Now it’s up to him. We were so happy about January camp, I think he showed we can trust him. He scored, but not only his scoring, his work ethic in the camp, the way that he can press, he worked for the team. All these things that I think meant we were focused on him, to give the trust and calling him now is to show that we really believe in him.”
The roster also includes a few familiar faces for U.S. fans who haven’t yet had a chance to prove themselves to Pochettino. That includes Adams, whom Pochettino praised but also said would have to “prove that he’s better than” others in a midfield that includes Tanner Tessmann, Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah and Weston McKennie.
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It also includes Reyna, who is still trying to find his way at the club level. He’ll get a chance to set things right in Nations League, a tournament that has been kind to him in the past. Reyna has five goal contributions across three Nations League finals. Despite not being in prime form, Pochettino said it was important to get Reyna in because he wouldn’t be able to participate in the Gold Cup. He’s instead due to be playing for Borussia Dortmund in the Club World Cup, which will be going on concurrently with the national team’s regional competition.
FIFA ruled that clubs have priority over players in this summer international window as it tries to push its new club competition, meaning Reyna and Juventus players Weston McKennie and Tim Weah are likely to be with their club teams rather than with the U.S.
“Everyone recognizes that his talent (is there),” Pochettino said of Reyna. “Of course, he’s improving, but he needs to improve. And of course he can do better. We need to push him, but we need to understand how he thinks, what he likes, (what) he (doesn’t) like. It’s important to create this relationship for the future if we are going to have the (possibility) again (for him) to join us. We want to win this competition, and I think he can help. That is why he is with us. But at the same time, I think he can do better. We are going to try to create this relationship, to try to discover and how to help.”
It makes this March window important on a number of levels — from team success, to individual performances and enhancing competition ahead of next summer’s all-important World Cup.
(Top photo: Ronald Cortes/Getty Images)
