“Deserve to have the chance” – USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino believes young MLS players are ready for Gold Cup | Football News
Mauricio Pochettino has stressed that young MLS players need opportunities leading up to the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup hosted by the U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT), so he decided to coach a few of them.As multiple key players based out of Europe are unavailable due to a combination of rest, injuries, and Club World Cup commitments, Pochettino views this tournament as an opportunity to test some domestic talent on the rise.
Young MLS talents to seize the opportunity
Pochettino’s 27-man training camp roster features 16 ready-to-compete MLS-based players, the first step in a broader evolution in fostering competition and conducting player evaluations. One of the more notable additions is 21-year-old Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna, who had an impressive showing in the January camp and has drawn acclaim for his creativity and tenacity. Brian Gutiérrez of the Chicago Fire is also another name to look out for, having drawn interest from the national team staff and European scouts for impressive showings of late. Pochettino is emphasising picking purely on merit and not club association.“I think that we created the best roster that we think can deliver what we want,” Pochettino stated. “I think it’s important to [call up] people that can challenge in one year’s time some names… to create this competitiveness in this squad is very, very important.”
Pochettino to build a competitive and cohesive squad
Group stage play for the USMNT at the Gold Cup will begin on June 15 against Trinidad and Tobago, Saudi Arabia, and Haiti. This tournament, in his eyes, represents an important building block of a collective ahead of the 2026 World Cup that will be jointly hosted here in the U.S.“The goal is to build a solid base of players that can lead us to compete in the best way in the World Cup,” he emphasized. Pochettino wants to mix young MLS talents into the national team setup to instill a sense of competition and commitment to every player tasked with representing their country.Also Read: USMNT star Christian Pulisic to miss 2025 Gold Cup over fitness concernsThis whole process will make all the difference when it comes to the USMNT gearing up towards the Gold Cup and being able to determine whether or not these youngsters are capable of performing on the international stage. Pochettino is also looking at the bigger picture in the long term with a young and ambitious squad that can compete in the targeted tournaments in the coming years.
