Mauricio Pochettino has excluded Christian Pulisic from the United States squad for the September-October international break, signalling the start of a new cycle for the USMNT after the 2026 World Cup.
The 27-year-old AC Milan forward, who is now fully fit after suffering a microfracture at the World Cup, has not started a single match for his club in 2026-27. He made two substitute appearances at half-time in Milan's most recent fixtures, but his last start came in the national team's World Cup campaign.
Weston McKennie, the Juventus midfielder who has only just returned to training and has one appearance this season — a cameo in Juve's opening weekend win over Frosinone — is also absent.
In their place, Pochettino has turned to youth and freshness. The 28-man squad features 12 players who have never been capped at senior international level, a bold statement of intent from the Argentine manager as he reshapes his roster. Chief among the newcomers is 16-year-old midfielder Cavan Sullivan, whose inclusion at such a young age underlines the depth of emerging talent in the American player pool.
The most notable returnee is Milan midfielder Yunus Musah. The 23-year-old, who played a key role for the United States at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, was shockingly left out of Pochettino's 2026 World Cup squad. Since then, he has established himself as a starter at Milan under Ruben Amorim, displacing Luka Modrić in the Rossoneri midfield. Musah has started every Serie A and Europa League match this season, and his recall confirms he remains central to Pochettino's long-term plans.
The full squad includes 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, Sebastian Berhalter, Zavier Gozo, Adri Mehmeti, Musah, Brooklyn Raines, Gio Reyna, Sullivan and Malik Tillman; and forwards Mathis Albert, Cole Campbell, Justin Ellis, Julian Hall and Ricardo Pepi.
The United States will play four friendlies across the extended break: against Peru on September 26, Chile on September 30, Mexico on October 4 and Canada on October 7. The matches represent the beginning of the post-World Cup era for the programme, with Pochettino clearly willing to move on from established names if they are not performing at club level.
Pulisic's omission is the most significant. Once labelled the future of the USMNT, his relationship with Pochettino has been strained since he skipped the 2025 Gold Cup, a decision the Argentine publicly criticised. The player's recent comments — "I asked to be a part of the team and they said no" — did little to bridge the gap. Now, with his Milan career in a difficult patch and his national team place gone, the 27-year-old faces an uncertain immediate future on both fronts.
Sources
https://football-italia.net/pulisic-left-out-usa-squad-but-musah-returns/ https://www.si.com/soccer/curious-case-christian-pulisic-american-phenom-usmnt-outcast
