Mauricio Pochettino sent the sort of squad update players remember. He informed 29 players they had missed the World Cup squad by email, not by phone, and the roster leaked to the group three days before the official announcement. Zavier Gozo said, “We got the email at the same time,” and added that he was upset for the player who missed out.

How the cuts landed on the USMNT pool

Pochettino did not soften the blow with direct calls. When he was asked about the approach, he brushed it off with “Nothing to talk about”, and he also said, “The most important thing is that we explained why we decided not to include [Pulisic]”. That is cold communication, plain and simple, and it clearly left a mark on the players on the wrong side of the line.

He was even blunter when pressed on the personal side of it: “If you have some problems, no, that is not my problem to understand. I am the head coach, I am not a mannequin.” The quote tells you enough about the tone of the process. It was not built to ease disappointment, it was built to deliver a decision.

The English-club spine in the squad

There is another layer here, because five USA players at English clubs were named in the World Cup squad. That group includes Tyler Adams, who made 25 Premier League appearances for Bournemouth, Antonee Robinson, who logged 22 Premier League appearances for Fulham, and Chris Richards, who played 33 Premier League matches for Crystal Palace.

Weston McKennie brought 36 Serie A appearances for Juventus, while Brenden Aaronson posted 37 Premier League matches for Leeds, the highest league appearance total among the English-club contingent in the brief. That does not erase the bitterness around the cuts, but it does show the squad is carrying real top-flight mileage into the tournament.

The more immediate story, though, is still the human one. Christian Pulišić, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Tim Ream, and Brenden Aaronson are in. Twenty-nine others were told by email that their World Cup bid was over.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →