USMNT roundup: Mauricio Pochettino's World Cup selection process about to hit the home stretch
After 18 months at the U. S. national soccer team helm, some 70 player evaluations, eight training camps, two tournaments and 24 matches in all, Mauricio Pochettino must now go about selecting his World Cup squad.
He’s got about 50 days to figure it out. Without additional opportunity for camp evaluations, the 54-year-old Argentine will appraise player performances with the national team and watch the closing stretch of club seasons. He estimates he will choose from a pool of 35 to 40 finalists.
“Now they know there’s going to be a competition,” Pochettino said. “They know 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 about the 26 players being on the roster. Who will be there is going to be happy, who is not on the roster is going to be sad.
” Pochettino will unveil the squad at a May 26 event in New York. The next day, camp will open at the new national training center in Fayette County, Georgia, followed by tuneups against Senegal on May 31 in Charlotte, North Carolina, and versus Germany on June 6 in Chicago. Preparations will then move to World Cup base camp in Irvine, California, before the June 12 opener against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in metro Los Angeles.
United States coach Mauricio Pochettino reacts during the international friendly between Portugal and the United States on March 31, 2026, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. (Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) Icon Sportswire via Getty Images When he finalizes his list, Pochettino said he will inform only the players who made the team. “If they have the necessity to call me, for sure, I'm very open to explain why” that player didn’t make the cut, he said.
Continue to the original source for the full article.