With next year’s World Cup drawing closer, Mauricio Pochettino called up a 25-man roster Sunday for his first competitive games as coach of the men’s national soccer team.
The U.S. will face Jamaica in a pair of CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals, the first on Thursday in Kingston and the second on Nov. 18 in St. Louis. The winner of the two-leg playoff will advance to the tournament’s final four in March at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
The U.S. won the first three Nations League tournaments under Gregg Berhalter, who was sacked as coach in July after his team was bounced from the Copa América in the group stage.
Eight of the players Pochettino summoned to training camp in Orlando, Fla., are coming off appearances in this month’s UEFA Champions League, the world’s most elite club tournament. Among them is forward Christian Pulisic, who has five goals and three assists for AC Milan in Serie A games this season.
Key among the omissions was midfielder Tyler Adams, who has been dealing with a series of injuries during the last two years. Adams, 25, returned to the starting lineup for Bournemouth, his club team in the English Premier League, this weekend but Pochettino said the former U.S. captain isn’t ready to play for the U.S. national team yet.
“I consider him a very important player for the future of this team,” Pochettino told reporters during a teleconference Sunday. “But the most important thing now is to see the progression.”
“I would like to have him here because I think he’s an important player for us,” the coach added. “But at the same time, we need the priority to be building his run and his journey. And I think that’s the best for him.”
Josh Sargent (groin surgery), Folarin Balogun (shoulder), Haji Wright (ankle), Sergiño Dest (ACL), Gio Reyna (groin) and Luca De La Torre (knee) are also unavailable because of injuries.
Three players returning from injury — defender Chris Richards, midfielder Johnny Cardoso and forward Tim Weah — will rejoin the team this week although Weah will sit out Thursday’s game with a red card suspension carried over from the Copa América. Weah’s club teammate at Juventus, Weston McKennie, is also on the U.S. roster.
The 25 players come from clubs in nine countries, including all five of Europe’s major leagues. Twenty men were part of Pochettino’s first camp as coach last month when the U.S. split its two matches, beating Panama in Austin before losing to Mexico in Guadalajara.
The roster:
Goalkeepers: Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona Atletic), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace).
Defenders: Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic).
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven).
Forwards: Cade Cowell (Guadalajara), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey), Tim Weah (Juventus), Alex Zendejas (Club América).
