USMNT roster: Weston McKennie snubbed, Christian Pulisic returns to squad for September friendlies

Mauricio Pochettino has named his roster for the September international window. The United States men's national team will host South Korea and Japan in friendlies during this window, as the clock ticks towards the World Cup, facing two teams who have already booked their tickets to next summer's tournament. After disappointing in Concacaf Nations League play and falling to Mexico in the Gold Cup final, there will be pressure on the USMNT to perform well in these games, especially for Christian Pulisic, who makes his return to the national team after opting out of Gold Cup play in order to rest and recover.

But while Pulisic is back, that doesn't mean all the stars are back in the squad, Weston McKennie was not called up for these matches. McKennie missed the Gold Cup due to Club World Cup duties with Juventus, but the 26-year-old has 60 caps for the national team and hasn't missed a regular camp since September of 2024. Forward Folarin Balogun also wasn't called up, with Norwich City's Josh Sargent making his return to the squad in the striker role.

Matt Turner and Zack Steffen also didn't make the cut as Matt Freese is the only goalkeeper with a cap in the squad. Pochettino will dig deep into the player pool during this September window as four players can earn their first caps for the USMNT, and nine players have fewer than 10 national team caps. That continues a Pochettino trend of wanting to explore all options ahead of the World Cup, but does bring up the question of when Pochettino will settle on a core squad.

There are only 289 days remaining until the 2026 World Cup kicks off in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and this squad is no closer to being settled. Some regulars like Sergino Dest, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Tyler Adams, and Pulisic may be here, but with rotation happening at key positions, chemistry will be hard to come by.

Roster

GOALKEEPERS (3): Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 7/0), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena/ITA; 0/0)

DEFENDERS (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 10/1), Noahkai Banks (FC Augsburg/GER; 0/0), Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 0/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 33/2), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 7/0), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; 1/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 74/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 31/3)

MIDFIELDERS (6): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 50/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 6/0), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC; 31/1), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 12/3), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo; 11/2), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew; 1/0)

FORWARDS (5): Damion Downs (Southampton/ENG; 5/0), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 78/32) Josh Sargent (Norwich/ENG; 28/5), Tim Weah (Marseille/FRA; 44/7), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 11/1)