Jeff Carlisle
United States men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino on Thursday named his 25-player roster for upcoming friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay.
While it features the return of Borussia Mönchengladbach teammates Giovanni Reyna and Joe Scally, as well as PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi, there are also notable absences, including Juventus’ Weston McKennie, AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic, Crystal Palace’s Chris Richards and Marseille’s Tim Weah.
The U.S. will face Paraguay in Chester, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 15, and will then take on Uruguay in Tampa three days later.
“As we continue to develop our squad and build on the culture we have created, this is another great opportunity for the players selected for this roster to prove they deserve to be on the final list for the World Cup,” Pochettino said.
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“It’s important that they come into this camp prepared to show their qualities on the field and their commitment to being a good teammate. We will keep working on the competitive details in training and have the opportunity to challenge ourselves against two high-quality opponents from South America.”
Pulisic, Richards and Weah have been nursing injuries, with the former sustaining a hamstring injury during the last international window. Weah suffered a thigh injury on Oct. 25, while Richards has been nursing a calf issue.
Pochettino said Pulisic was left off the latest roster “to provide him the the possibility to recover 100%.”
The reason for McKennie’s absence is unknown at the moment, and while he went the distance in Juve’s draw against Sporting CP in the UEFA Champions League, he is also trying to impress a new manager in Luciano Spalletti, who was hired last week.
The injury list, which also includes Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Club América’s Alejandro Zendejas makes for yet another window where Pochettino will have a roster that is significantly less than full strength.
Robinson had knee surgery on May 27 and hasn’t played a Premier League match for Fulham this season.
“We are worried, of course, I think because he is now for a long period, that cannot play,” Pochettino said.
Reyna and Scally return for the first since both players took part in the 2025 Concacaf Nations League finals back in March. Reyna has also switched clubs in that time, moving to Gladbach from Borussia Dortmund.
Both players featured in last week’s 4-0 victory over St. Pauli, which was Gladbach’s first of the season. The absences of McKennie, Pulisic, Weah and Zendejas could potentially clear the way for Reyna to get considerable playing time.
Pochettino repeatedly said playing time with clubs impacts whether players should be called in for national team games.
“He has enormous, enormous talent and it’s true that he’s not playing too much but I think it’s a good opportunity in November,” Pochettino said about Reyna. “We need to understand that sometimes some players struggle to play but can be important for us. That is why. It is not contradictory, my message.”
Pepi returns to the USMNT for the first time since November of 2024, and carries with him considerable momentum, having scored a stoppage time equalizer in PSV’s 1-1 draw against Olympiacos in the UCL.
He’ll contend with Monaco’s Folarin Balogun — who also scored in the Champions League this week — as well as Coventry City’s Haji Wright for playing time.
Richards, a regular starter at central defender, was left off and Crystal Palace coach Oliver Glasner has said he was disappointed the U.S. used Richards last month despite a calf ailment.
“Milan or Palace, they are not right to complain,” Pochettino said. “We are the first that care and we never meant to play a player with some doubt.”
He said clubs expressing frustration with the U.S. national team “makes me feel very disappointed because I am very respectful with all the coaches.”
The aforementioned November 2024 window was also the last time that Celtic defender Auston Trusty was in the USMNT fold having benefited from injuries to club teammate Cameron Carter-Vickers, as well as the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Tristan Blackmon.
Players begin reporting to camp in Philadelphia on Nov. 9.
DETAILED ROSTER BY POSITION (Club/Country; Caps/Goals)
GOALKEEPERS (4): Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 11/0), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena/ITA; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 3/0)
DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 14/1), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 35/2), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 11/0), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse FC/FRA; 24/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 78/1), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 37/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 21/0), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel/GER; 4/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 4/0)
MIDFIELDERS (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 52/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 7/0), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 11/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 32/8), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 41/0), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 10/0), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew; 1/0)
FORWARDS (5): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 54/9), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco/FRA; 27/7), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 16/3), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 33/13), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 19/7)
Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.
