When Mauricio Pochettino addressed the US men’s national team for the first time after he joined last year, it made ex-American soccer star Eric Wynalda emotional. “I was like, there it is. There’s a coach. That’s a guy that gets it,” he said in his podcast show once. And we bet that similar would be the case for others. But fast forward to today, we think that feeling might have faded away as Pochettino might have shown his side that many would term as hostile.

It all stems from the recently announced October roster for the friendlies against Ecuador and Australia, where the Argentinian tactician put forward a no-nonsense squad, calling up several big names while leaving out a few others. During the press conference following the roster reveal, renowned journalist Jeff Carlisle questioned the USMNT boss about his evaluation of Patrick Agyemang, Folarin Balogun, and Haji Wright as central strikers, while also raising the issue of Yunus Musah and Joe Scally’s omission.

Surprisingly, Mauricio Pochettino bluntly responded, “Oh, next time you provide your list and your roster, and after that, we can debate, or everyone can provide [their list], because I don’t think I’m going to talk [about it] because we never gave an explanation to the players who are not with us.”

Hearing this statement certainly didn’t settle in the ears of ex-USMNT star Herculez Gomez, who reshared this exact conversation between Carslile and the manager while expressing his sharp remarks. “Jeff Carslile is one of the most respected journalists in the US. It was a simple question on the omission of two players. Pochettino could have easily said, “Others are ahead,” but his answer was bush league. Combative. Can’t be questioned?” wrote Gomez on the retweeted video.

The ESPN pundit didn’t stop there as he added another comment below the X post, terming Pochettino’s behaviour as “Screams of ‘who are you to question me’.”

Cheeky dig, but more than that, indeed a valid concern from Herc Gomez. In the defense of the journalist, he merely asked for a reason regarding a player’s absence, something which others had also asked for. But instead, Mauricio Pochettino decided to be quite upfront. Maybe it must be because of the constant criticism that he has faced earlier due to the team’s performance, or in this case, the uncertainty over the roster calls.

So perhaps the only explanation is that he must have gotten carried away with yet another query that was bombarded at him. Either way, he was also able to give a very thoughtful explanation behind his response.

Here’s why Mauricio Pochettino snapped at a journalist!

Responding to the same question, the former Chelsea boss explained that when journalists ask about players who aren’t on the roster, it seems they believe those players have a right to be included. This not only makes the coach’s decision and choices look bad, but also makes it disrespectful for the players. He stressed the importance of respecting the 26 selected, cautioning that otherwise, decisions could end up being influenced by social media or external opinions.

“I think you need to respect the players that are here, and we never give an explanation,” admitted Pochettino. Instead, the 53-year-old gave his assurance about creating a fundamental team that balances the harmony within. “What I want to tell you is we are very focused and we really work so hard, try to build the best roster,” added Poch. The former PSG boss added that the players being mentioned are part of an open system.

While they may not be included this time, they could have the opportunity to be called up in the coming months. Similarly, some current squad members might not receive future call-ups. “We always try to bring the combination and to create the roster with a good balance and with the players that I think today deserve to be here. Maybe this name that you are telling me will join us in the future,” concluded the latter.

There you go, a vivid explanation from the USMNT boss. Oh, and by the way, here’s the full roster for your reference (Club/Country; Caps/Goals):

Goalkeepers (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 9/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 3/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 52/0)

Defenders (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 12/1), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic/SCO; 19/0), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 9/0), Mark McKenzie (FC Toulouse/FRA; 22/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 77/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 33/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 50/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 35/3)

Midfielders (8): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 53/9), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 14/3), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 60/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 9/0), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 39/0), James Sands (FC St. Pauli/GER; 11/0), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 8/0), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER; 25/3)

Forwards (6): Patrick Agyemang (Derby County/ENG; 12/5), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco/FRA; 19/6), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 80/32), Tim Weah (Marseille/FRA; 45/7), Haji Wright (Coventry City/ENG; 17/5), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 13/2)

What are your thoughts on this? Let us know in the comments below.