As World Cup nears, does Pochettino know USMNT's starting XI? - ESPN

Just nine months from the start of the 2026 World Cup, U.S. men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino is still figuring things out.

Before slumping to a 2-0 loss on Saturday to South Korea in a friendly that featured his 14th different starting XI in 17 games, the USMNT coach was blunt about his willingness to extend his tinkering for — at least according to him — one more international window.

"[This] is a camp that I think is going to be the last camp to have the possibility for us to see players, new faces," Pochettino said in late August when the roster was announced. «No one has their place [assured], and that is my message for everyone that you need to fight, need to fight because that is an open system.

»If we want to be a team [that's] really competitive, we cannot nominate 13, 14, 15 players — these guys for sure are going to arrive to the World Cup and the rest, they need few places to fight. Come on."

The message is clear from the Argentine coach. Though his World Cup preparation has featured setbacks through injuries, complications around player availability, and frustrating results, he also has shown in recent international breaks that he's willing to look past high-profile starters and give opportunities to fringe players.

Captain and star attacker Christian Pulisic? A headline-stealing absence from summer friendlies after the AC Milan player wanted to rest during the Gold Cup. Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie who has 60 caps with the USMNT? Left out as the most noteworthy omission from the current squad, with Pochettino attempting to justify the decision by stating «we know Weston.»

The list goes on, and while continuing to examine a growing group of alternate players along the way, those decisions