CHESTER, Pa. (AP) – U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino plans to include only the final 26 players in his final training camp before the World Cup, not wanting to cut anyone in the days leading up to the tournament.
Pochettino said on Friday, ahead of a friendly against Paraguay: “It would have been shocking if I had said from the beginning, ‘Okay, this is number 26,’ but this – okay, I’ve accepted it. But I think it would be even crueler to play the game and then go home.”
In the past, U.S. coaches have convened larger groups and then cut back on members. Jurgen Klinsmann caused controversy by cutting 32-year-old star Landon Donovan in 2014, and Jeff Agus burned his jersey in 1994 when he was dropped by Bora Milutinovic.
In 2010, Bob Bradley called his seven players one by one into a hotel conference room in Hartford, Connecticut after a friendly against the Czech Republic and told them they would not be going to the World Cup in South Africa. The absent group included Alejandro Bedoya, Brian Chin, Eddie Johnson, Sasha Krizestan and Robbie Rodgers.
A larger training camp squad will allow Pochettino and his staff to locally assess potential replacements for injured players.
“For me, it’s easy to call up more than 26 players, but I think we need to think about human nature and desire and not be cruel,” Pochettino said, adding that he didn’t want the camp to become a situation where “we practice, practice, practice, go home. It’s hard.”
Pochettino has selected 71 players since taking over as manager in October 2024. Teams must submit a preliminary roster of 55 players to FIFA before selecting the final group of up to 26 players.
The U.S. Soccer Federation plans for players to report to a new facility in Fayetteville, Georgia, for practice starting May 27. The U.S. Soccer Federation is likely to play two friendlies before the World Cup opener takes place June 12 in Inglewood, California.
A factor is how the group gets along.
“You can’t be Harry Potter, can you? And you touch and say, let’s create a chemistry,” Pochettino said.
His methods of contacting players include press conferences, messages through the media to both those in camp and those who have been excluded and remain at the club.
After Saturday’s game and Tuesday’s match against Uruguay, Pochettino only has two friendly matches left before he can select his World Cup squad. Tim Ream, the 38-year-old U.S. national team captain and defender, said the team discussed thinking of the remainder of the season as “10 practice sessions.”
“When you talk about the number of games, the number of training sessions, the number of camps, that’s knocking on our door,” he said.
The shortened time it takes to finalize the roster is having an impact on practice.
“I don’t know if it’s desperation, I think it’s just focus,” Ream said. “There’s a little bit of bite in practice. There’s intensity. There’s more aggression. The players are doing everything they can to be part of the team. And I think you’re starting to see that more and more as we get closer and closer. And that’s a good thing. The players are eager to be part of their group, to be part of the team and to be in the World Cup for their home country.”
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
