Pochettino plans to bring only final 26 players to camp ahead of World Cup to `not to be cruel'

CHESTER, Pa. -- U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino plans to bring lone the last 26-man roster to his past pre-World Cup grooming camp, not wanting to chopped anyone successful the days up of the shot tournament.

“I deliberation from the beginning, if you say, OK, that is the 26, that is simply a shock, but this — OK, you accept. But aft to beryllium progressive and past to spell home, I deliberation it’s much cruel,” Pochettino said Friday, a time up of a affable against Paraguay.

Past U.S. coaches person called successful larger groups and past trimmed their roster. Jurgen Klinsmann caused contention erstwhile helium cut 32-year-old prima Landon Donovan aft a grooming league astatine Stanford University successful 2014, and Jeff Agoos burned his azygous erstwhile helium was dropped by Bora Milutinovic successful 1994.

In 2010, Bob Bradley called 7 players into a edifice league country successful Hartford, Connecticut, 1 by 1 for post-midnight meetings aft a affable against the Czech Republic and told them they wouldn't beryllium going to the World Cup successful South Africa. The radical that missed included Alejandro Bedoya, Brian Ching, Eddie Johnson, Sacha Kljestan and Robbie Rogers.

A larger grooming campy squad would alteration Pochettino and his unit to measure injured players with imaginable replacements connected site.

“For me, it’s easier to telephone much players than 26, but I deliberation I request to deliberation (terms of) the quality being and tendency and not to beryllium cruel,” Pochettino said, adding helium didn’t privation the campy to become: “You train, you bid and you train. You spell home. It’s tough.”

Pochettino has selected 71 players since taking implicit arsenic manager successful October 2024. Teams indispensable taxable a preliminary roster of 55 players to FIFA earlier selecting a last radical of astatine astir 26.

The U.S. Soccer Federation is readying for players to study to its caller analyzable successful Fayetteville, Georgia, for grooming to commencement connected May 27. The Americans apt volition person 2 friendlies earlier their World Cup opener connected June 12 astatine Inglewood, California.

How the radical gets on volition beryllium a factor.

“You cannot beryllium Harry Potter, no? — and you interaction and say: make chemistry,” Pochettino said.

Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Antonee Robinson and Chris Richards are among the missing players successful this camp.

“No 1 tin consciousness safe,” Pochettino said. “The federation is bigger than the names. That is the nationalist team. That is the practice of the country. It’s everyone.”

His roster includes Gio Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter, whose parents feuded aft Reyna got small playing clip astatine the 2022 World Cup and then-coach Gregg Berhalter nearly sent the young midfielder home. The spat outgo Berhalter his occupation for a half-year, and helium past was fired aft first-round elimination astatine the Copa America and replaced by Pochettino.

“I perceive something, but for maine it’s not important," Pochettino said of the dispute. “These 2 guys are truly intelligent and precise clever. I deliberation if thing happened, for definite we are mature capable to woody with that.”

Pochettino's method to scope players includes his quality conferences, messages done the media to some players successful campy and those omitted and remaining with their clubs.

After Saturday's crippled and Tuesday's lucifer against Uruguay, lone a brace of March friendlies volition stay earlier Pochettino picks his World Cup roster. Defender Tim Ream, the 38-year-old U.S. captain, said the squad talked astir reasoning of the clip play remaining arsenic “10 grooming sessions.”

"When you speech astir fig of games, fig of grooming sessions, fig of camps, it’s knocking connected our door,” helium said.

Dwindling clip until last roster decisions has impacted practice.

“I don’t cognize if it’s desperation, I deliberation it’s conscionable — it’s an aggravated focus,” Ream said. “There's a small spot much wound successful trainings. There’s intensity. There’s much aggressiveness. Guys are doing everything they perchance tin to beryllium a portion of the team. And I deliberation arsenic we’ve gotten person and closer, you spot that much and more. And that’s a bully thing. Guys are hopeless to beryllium portion of their radical and beryllium a portion of a squad and beryllium portion a World Cup connected location soil.”

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