US Soccer Legend Calls Out Mauricio Pochettino’s Latest USMNT Squad Decisions As World Cup Nears

“I think [this] is going to be the last camp to have the possibility for us to see players, new faces,” assured Mauricio Pochettino while announcing the USMNT‘s 23-player roster ahead of their September fixtures against South Korea and Japan. Quite a daring move to still call up fresh names with less than ten months to go before the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off. Poch was quick to clarify that this won’t be the case moving forward — but it seems the damage was done, as US soccer icon Landon Donovan has already issued a sharp critique.

Technically, it’s a double blow to the Argentinian tactician, as days ago, another ex-USMNT star turned pundit, Charlie Davies, had questioned the 53-year-old over his latest roster call. Writing for The Athletic, Davies mentioned, “We are nine months away from the start of the World Cup on home soil and the coach is still experimenting, still familiarizing himself with the player pool and still ‘sending messages’ to players? Really?”

This only saw Landon Donovan step into the matter. “This is straight up bizarre,” began the former striker while speaking on his Unfiltered Podcast co-hosted alongside Tim Howard. “Some of these [call-ups] are a little head scratching to be honest,” he said, vocally admitting that it has literally “boggled” his mind.

Well, the biggest head-scratcher for Donovan was the omission of midfielder Aidan Morris, currently starring for England’s Championship side Middlesbrough. The former LA Galaxy icon urged Pochettino to take a closer look at Morris, who has been delivering man-of-the-match performances for not one, but three consecutive games for his club.

What’s more, Morris has consistently earned starts ahead of two quality Columbus Crew midfielders, Sean Zawadzki and Sebastian Berhalter. Yet, it was Zawadzki who got the call-up—a move Donovan isn’t taking personally, but one he simply “cannot figure out for life,” given Morris’ form and potential.

That’s not all—Donovan also pointed out the omissions of players like Weston McKennie, Haji Wright, and Joe Scally, along with Johnny Cardoso, Yunus Musah, and Tanner Tessmann. It almost feels as though all these names, despite starting the season strongly, would have been automatic picks had they been playing in MLS.

The fact that a former pro-MLS star is raising this concern suggests something is amiss, as he claims these players are “being punished for challenging themselves in Europe.” Hopefully, that’s not the case, especially considering there was a time when Mauricio Pochettino was defending himself against criticism for allegedly favoring European-based players over MLS talent.

Now, the situation seems to have flipped. Still, despite these concerns, it appears Pochettino has things under control—at least that’s exactly how he puts it.

Mauricio Pochettino offers reassurance despite USMNT squad concerns

Before completely jumping to conclusions, one needs to know exactly why Mauricio Pochettino left out so many names. According to him, it came down to several factors — injuries, players starting preseason late, and others moving between clubs ahead of the new season — all of which he claims are part of a larger plan tailored for each player.

The former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, and Tottenham boss stressed that players must always feel the competition within the squad, defending their place at every opportunity. As part of this approach, Pochettino and his staff have been in regular contact with club coaches to gather what he calls “priceless” insights into each player’s individual development.

“We have experience, we have the quality and the capacity to see and to detect and to analyze and to create the best plan to arrive in the best condition,” Pochettino said to US Soccer. “Now, it’s up to the players. We want to have the best players to compete in the best way in the World Cup, and for sure we are going to arrive with the best roster to compete.”

Simply put, an individualized roadmap has been outlined for each player leading up to the 2026 World Cup. But with only four camps remaining before World Cup preparations kick off in May, is Mauricio Pochettino experimenting a bit too much? Share your views in the comments below.