Mauricio Pochettino subtly called out Pulisic and USMNT stars for skipping Gold Cup

USA Today

3 days ago

Mauricio Pochettino subtly called out Pulisic and USMNT stars for skipping Gold Cup
The U.S. men's national team is set to play in its last remaining competitive tournament before co-hosting the World Cup in 2026, and the vibes could not be much worse.
Even head coach Mauricio Pochettino is speaking out about it.
When the USMNT announced the rosters for the Gold Cup, the notable absences of stars like Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson and Yunus Musah sparked an uproar among U.S. soccer fans. The team was already going to be shorthanded with several key players tied into Club World Cup duties, so it seemed imperative for the best remaining players to take advantage of the last extended camp together for the next year.
Pulisic — citing the need for rest — saw it differently. And that led to Pochettino pointing out the contrasting mentality global superstars take to national team duty. He said that players he's coached like Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Harry Kane were all "desperate" to play for their national teams.
Pochettino said in a podcast appearance with former USMNT stars Landon Donovan and Tim Howard:
"Today, we have plenty of players playing abroad for USA. But the most important thing is the culture we saw in you (Tim Howard and Landon Donovan), that to be desperate to come and be the priority - the national team. ... Even Messi, even Neymar, even Mbappe for France. We were working with these guys, Harry Kane. These guys are desperate to go to the national team. And for them, when they go, they don't see if it's a friendly game. It's an official game. It's a World Cup. It doesn't matter. Because the possibility to defend one time more, your flag, your shirt, I want to feel proud about that. And that it the responsibility of us to translate."
Those comments appeared to be an obvious jab at Pulisic, Robinson and others for viewing the Gold Cup as not worth their time. And sure, the Gold Cup has been relegated to a developmental tournament in recent years in light of the CONCACAF Nations League. But Pochettino wants to see a culture of players who look at USMNT duty as an honor regardless of the tournament or competition.
That mentality had clearly been lost among this current generation of players despite the immense individual talent. And Pochettino is running out of time to reinstate it.