There’s a youth movement afoot within the United States men’s soccer team.

On Thursday, coach Mauricio Pochettino named a 28-player roster for the Stars and Stripes’ first matches since reaching the round of 16 at the 2026 FIFA World Cup – home exhibitions later this month and early next against Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada. It’s stocked with almost as many new faces as World Cup veterans, although star attacking midfielder Christian Pulisic will sit out this window.

Christian Pulisic won’t be part of this squad. (Photo by Luke Hales/Getty Images)

But the list includes 13 members of the squad that won its group and a knockout match against Bosnia and Herzegovina before being eliminated by Belgium. There are familiar names like Tyler Adams and Chris Richards plus five World Cup goalscorers: Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, Gio Reyna, Malik Tillman and Auston Trusty.

However, the list also features 12 youngsters who will be participating in their first senior international camp when it begins next week at U.S. Soccer’s training center outside Atlanta.

Cavan Sullivan is primed for a big role for the USA. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

“I think it’s a good mix of experience and fresh and new energy,” said Pochettino, who spoke to reporters following Thursday’s announcement. 

Among those are seven teenagers: 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan; 17-year-olds Mathis Albert and Adri Mehmeti; Julian Hall, Peyton Miller and Neil Pierre (all 18) and Justin Ellis (19).

“He’s only 16, he’s a kid,” Pochettino said of Sullivan, who nonetheless has five goals and six assists in his last seven MLS games for the Philadelphia Union. “But I think the most important [thing] is that we’ve got the chance now, as a result of he deserves to affix us within the nationwide crew.”

Listed below are my takeaways from the roster, plus further perception from Pochettino. 

The absence of a number of World Cup starters who’re both simply coming back from an extended layoff (Christian Pulisic, Folarin Balogun) or at present injured (Weston McKennie), plus the truth that the U.S. under-20 and -23 groups gained’t reconvene till November, opened the door for Pochettino to take a look at a few of the brightest abilities in the complete participant pool. 

The opposite kids are right here on benefit, too. Pierre, a towering 6-foot-7 middle again who’s Sullivan’s teammate in Philly, has additionally been enjoying and scoring frequently in the course of the second half of the MLS season. Corridor, Mehmeti and Miller have all been starters for his or her MLS golf equipment all season, and in Miller’s case even longer. 

18-year-old defender Neil Pierre is a prime prospect. (Photograph by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photos)

And whereas Albert has been an unused sub in all 4 of Dortmund’s Bundesliga and UEFA Champions League matches to begin the 2026-27 marketing campaign, he did go 90 minutes in a German Cup match in early September and is taken into account a blue-chip prospect. There have been additionally a number of 20-year-olds invited: winger Cole Campbell, keeper Diego Kochen and fullback Frankie Westfield.

This camp additionally marks the return of AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah, who began all 4 video games for the U.S. on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar (the place, at 19, he marked England star Jude Bellingham out of the Individuals’ scoreless group stage tie towards the Three Lions) however didn’t even make the 2026 squad. Nonetheless simply 23, Musah — whose final cap got here nearly two years in the past — may as soon as once more occupy a serious function in central midfield this cycle. 

Yunus Musah missed out on the 2026 World Cup however has a path towards the subsequent one. (Photograph by Matteo Ciambelli/DeFodi Photos/DeFodi through Getty Photos)

“Yunus is like everybody – the doorways are open for everybody,” Pochettino mentioned of Musah, who fell out of favor with the Argentine after skipping the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup together with Rossoneri teammate Pulisic.  “Now it is a new begin. It is a new cycle. It isn’t [about] what occurred one 12 months or one year-and-a-half in the past.”

On this first camp of the 2030 World Cup cycle, Pochettino has the posh of experimenting maybe greater than he’ll at every other level over the subsequent 4 years. With FIFA combining the traditionally separate September and October worldwide home windows for the primary time, the previous Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain supervisor will get an extended have a look at the subsequent era in each coaching periods and video games. That’s an exceedingly uncommon alternative for a world coach.

“It is an awesome alternative to herald new gamers with potential, with the chance to spend extra time coaching, extra time collectively,” he mentioned. 

Nonetheless, Poch additionally desires to win these video games — particularly subsequent month’s cross-border derbies towards Les Rouges and El Tri, two groups he’s by no means overwhelmed in three tries as U.S. coach. And he has to win beginning in November, when the U.S. will meet an opponent to be decided within the quarterfinals of the 2026-27 Concacaf Nations League.

Assuming the Individuals advance from home-and-home sequence, they’ll play the Nations League finals in March, then the Gold Cup in June, with qualifying matches for the 2030 World Cup set to kick off subsequent fall.

Which means a lot of the youngsters will return to youth nationwide groups, particularly the Steve Cherundolo-coached U-23s that can produce no less than 15 members of the Olympic crew for the 2028 Summer season Video games in Los Angeles. Pochettino mentioned that Cherundolo could be at this camp, to which he summoned a dozen Olympic age-eligible gamers.  

“A gold medal,” Pochettino added. “Is the target of the federation.”

Pulisic wasn’t the one longtime U.S. participant unnoticed. Matt Turner and Tim Weah, each starters on the 2022 World Cup who served as depth choices this summer time, have been additionally omitted regardless of seeing common enjoying time for the Revs and Marseille, respectively. So was 38-year-old Tim Ream, the U.S. captain final summer time, and Premier League starter Brenden Aaronson.

Chris Richards can be an anchor for the USA for years to return. (Photograph by Bob Kupbens/Icon Sportswire through Getty Photos)

Pulisic is 27. Weah is 26. Each can be again. However their longtime function as crew leaders this cycle is up for debate, with Adams, Ricahards, Freeman and others doubtlessly taking up extra duty throughout Pochettino’s second go-round with the American squad.

“It is a vital interval for us additionally to look at if senior gamers are good function fashions,” Pochettino mentioned. “They should know that the younger playear are going to see every little thing: the best way that you just transfer, stroll, discuss, behave, and on the sphere and off.”