Mauricio Pochettino has named a 26-player roster for the US men’s national team’s upcoming friendlies against Ecuador and Australia that includes many familiar names – and has one very notable omission.
Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams, a usual mainstay of the squad who captained the US at the 2022 World Cup, is not included, with Pochettino breaking the news that the midfielder is expecting his second child in the days to come.
The squad is also notable for some significant returns. Antonee Robinson is back for the first time since undergoing knee surgery after the end of the last Premier League season, as does forward Patrick Agyemang after his summer transfer from Charlotte FC to Derby County.
A few notable players will miss the friendlies due to injury, a group that includes Atlético Madrid midfielder Johnny Cardoso, Borussia Mönchengladbach midfielder Gio Reyna, and the PSV Eindhoven duo of forward Ricardo Pepi and defender Sergiño Dest.
The US will play Ecuador on 10 October at 8.30pm ET in Austin, Texas before traveling north to Colorado to play Australia on 14 October at 9pm ET.
Here are Pochettino’s selections and some initial takeaways:
Goalkeepers
Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
Turner returns to the squad after missing out on the last window, and once again he faces a tight competition for the No 1 shirt. This time around, he’ll be competing with NYC FC’s Freese, who was Pochettino’s preferred starter through the Gold Cup over the summer and friendlies afterward. Brady joins after a solid showing against Inter Miami in a wild midweek win, and Schulte will hope to translate another camp appearance into some game time with the first team.
Defenders
Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Mark McKenzie (FC Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati)
The returning Robinsons, Antonee and Miles, highlight a group that is largely the same as the last few windows, with the notable exceptions of Tristan Blackmon (through injury) and Noahkai Banks. Fulham’s Robinson has only made scattered appearances off the bench for his club since returning from offseason knee surgery, but is fit enough to join the US squad after his absence this summer. With five center backs (Carter-Vickers, McKenzie, Ream, Richards and Miles Robinson), it seems likely that Pochettino could return to the three-at-the-back formation that worked so well for the US in a friendly win against Japan last time out.
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Midfielders
Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), James Sands (FC St Pauli), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)
McKennie makes his return to the US squad for the first time since March’s disastrous Nations League final, with Club World Cup duty ruling him out for the summer games and Pochettino omitting him for the last pair of friendlies. His role will be interesting to suss out, especially in the absence of Adams. Morris returns for the first time since Pochettino’s debut international window a year ago, with Sands appearing for the first time. Both have started well for their clubs and could be a depth option come World Cup time with a good showing. Yunus Musah is another notable exclusion after mostly coming off the bench for Atalanta to start the season with his new club.
Forwards
Patrick Agyemang (Derby County), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Christian Pulisic (Milan), Tim Weah (Marseille), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alex Zendejas (Club América)
Balogun and Zendejas performed well in their first US call-ups of 2025 last time. Agyemang’s inclusion follows a solid start to life in England with Derby Country – the forward was one of the big beneficiaries of Pochettino’s experimental Gold Cup squad. Pulisic enters this set of friendlies in arguably the best form of his career.
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