Christian Pulisic returns to the US men's national team for two friendlies against South Korea and Japan after a self-imposed summer absence. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino named 22 players, with a 23rd expected to be added later; US Soccer did not clarify whether Weston McKennie will be included. Several regulars miss out due to injury or recovery, including Matt Turner, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Patrick Agyemang, Malik Tillman, Antonee Robinson, and Yunus Musah. Norwich's Josh Sargent, Sergino Dest, and Tim Weah return. The roster features 12 Gold Cup holdovers and a surprise inclusion, 18-year-old center back Noahkai Banks, who made his Bundesliga debut earlier this year.
Christian Pulisic will return to the US men's national team for the first time since his self-imposed absence from the team's summer slate, having been named to the team's roster for two friendlies against South Korea and Japan in the upcoming international window. However, in a surprise move, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie was not named among head coach Mauricio Pochettino's squad.
The roster is also notable for a few other absences. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, who made an offseason loan move back to MLS in search of regular playing time, misses out, as will strikers Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, and Patrick Agyemang, midfielder Malik Tillman, and defender Antonee Robinson, all of whom are either injured or returning to action after time on the sideline.
Sergino Dest also makes his return to the US team after recovering fully from last season's ACL tear. Tim Weah is back in the fold as well after Club World Cup duties kept him from participating in the Gold Cup. The squad is also notable for the holdovers from that Gold Cup squad: 12 in total, including goalkeeper Matt Freese, defenders Alex Freeman, Max Arfsten, and Nathan Harriel, midfielder Jack McGlynn, and striker Damion Downs.
Collection
[
|
...
]