Mauricio Pochettino claimed as many as 40 hopefuls have a shot of making his 26-man USMNT roster for the World Cup – but suggested none is among the world’s top 100 players.
The USA was beaten 2-0 by Portugal on Tuesday night in the final game before he names his squad on May 26 ahead of this summer’s showpiece on home soil.
Pochettino has experimented since taking over in August 2024 and he made six changes for Tuesday’s loss in Atlanta, which came just four days after a 5-2 humiliation against Belgium.
The former Tottenham and Chelsea coach now faces the daunting task of whittling down a huge pool of players to just 26 ahead of the USMNT’s World Cup opener against Paraguay on June 12.
‘It is going to be painful because that process… is going to be difficult to pick only 26 from 35, 40,’ he said. ‘Who will be there is going to be happy, who is not on the roster is going to be sad.’
He added: ‘[This] was the end of our cycle… for preparation for the World Cup. I think this is the end because the next roster is going to be the roster that is going to be involved. I think it’s too many things that we need to assess and to see in the next few weeks.’
Mauricio Pochettino said up to 40 players have a shot of making his USMNT World Cup roster
Christian Pulisic and Co were beaten 2-0 by Portugal at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday
Pochettino tried to put a positive spin on the two losses, highlighting the caliber of players at the disposal of Belgium and Portugal – both of whom are ranked in the world’s top 10.
‘I think for sure Belgium and Portugal have in the top 100 players, a few or some playing in that top 100. I think we don’t have.’
His talisman, Christian Pulisic, missed a number of big chances against Portugal before being substituted at halftime. He hasn’t scored for club or country since December 28.
‘Yes, he feels frustrated, but that is what we want, what we expect,’ Pochettino said. ‘He was fighting… he’s going to score because he has quality. I am sure that he’s going to come back to his club and the moment that he scores, he is going to score again.’
Pochettino also suggested on Tuesday night that he had not addressed the upcoming selection dilemma with his players.
‘I think now they know that it’s going to be a competition,’ the coach said.
‘They know that we are going to see every single week, every single game, and we are going to assess one year and a half or more, and we are going to make the decision.’
