Pre-match: US v Turkey, June 7 2025 (Friendly)

If both club and player don't want to be on the selection and refuse the independent evaluation, FIFA can't do anything.

 

Functionally the player wouldn’t. Because it’d only happen in a situation where the player wants to be called up. The club doesn’t matter at all, they can’t stop a player from having a medical evaluation.

The EU privacy laws have to do with not sharing a person’s medical records without their permission. Players don’t withhold permission to share this sort of stuff with their national teams.

There’s a similar law in the US called HIPAA which similarly mandates you can’t share someone’s health records without their consent (though it is often very much misunderstood).

 

Anyway, Pochettino's comments don't exclude the possibility that there could be a few players brought into the Turkey/Swiss camp that won't be on the Gold Cup roster. I could see him bringing in Dest to evaluate his readiness for the Gold Cup but also calling up Freeman as backup. Just as for instance.

 

The tricky thing is the Gold Cup roster is due the 4th before any of the friendlies so I think will depend on when the camp itself actually starts and how much time Pochettino will have to evaluate before that deadline.

 

Is Poch preparing for the WC or the GC? Key players that won't be available for the GC (including players that can never become available even if their club situation changes because they aren't on the 60-man list) should be called to the friendlies if the priority is the WC.

 

We are all presupposing that the player agrees to the callup and medical. Obviously if a player refuses to go or refuses a medical then they don't go and it ends with that. As a healthcare IT professional for decades I can validate that a club can't control whether a player gets a medical or not. Indeed, the player should have control over his own medical data and can absolutely request the data be sent to another professional. This is law in the US and should be the same in Europe. The only question is how FIFA will validate this and they would certainly accept a second medical from the MNT and player.

 

Its possible to have an eye on both prizes.

I mean, I'd say that after the Nations League debacle............................there's a huge segment of the fan population that expects us to WIN the Gold Cup. DEMANDS that we win the Gold Cup. Poch and the staff know it. If the team doesn't do well at the Gold Cup, the heat will really be on. They're thus preparing for the Gold Cup. But at the same time they can bring some younger players into the friendlies camp for evaluation. The twitterverse is telling us that Damion Downs has been called up.

 

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Two players that have not been named to the USMNT’s June roster: Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers, per sources.

Both players were on the 60-player Gold Cup provisional roster, however will head into a summer break after Scottish Cup Final.

 

I feel like this is a good sign to see some newer faces, even if they don't end up being better.

 

The other center backs on the provisional are

Mckenzie, Ream, Zimmerman, Campbell, Robinson, Blackmon, Richards, and Dietz.

I’d probably like to see McKenzie, Richards, Robinson, and Blackmon if that list, but seems unlikely we won’t see Ream.

 

There's nothing that can get a guy on the radar more than flirting with another national team. Canada's recent overture to Blackmon (even though he's not yet eligible as far as we know) may have had the desired effect.

Maybe for Chris Brady after his recent flirtation with Scotland. That roster is wide open for a new keeper to get a look.

I'll be stunned if Ream isn't there. And you know what, he was excellent for 99% of that Panama game.

 

Brown is with Germany for their pre UEFA U21 Championships camp.
I've thought for a while now that we'd have to get by this event before having a real chance at him.
This is the last youth event he's eligible for (US or Germany).

[We knew he wasn't going to be with us in this window for a myriad of reasons. 1) Hasn't filed for his one-time switch. And why would he to play in a Gold Cup. 2) He's not on our provisional roster.]

 

Nick Woltemade was with the U21s in March with Nene but got called in by Nagelsmann this summer. Nene is having a great season but that wasn't enough for him to get called in over LB options like Gosens, Mittelstädt, and Raum.

 

The Canada thing is a bit fake for Blackmon since he won’t actually be eligible till 2027. I think he deserves a look from the options available given his play in MLS this year. But yes I’d be very surprised if there’s no Ream.

 

theres been absolutely no indication of this being even remotely true.

you and everyone else said "oh, well, after the copa debacle...", blah, blah, blah. friendlies came and went, jan camp came and went, the nl came and went and weve looked like different piles of dog shit each and every time.

should we look like another unique pile with zero direction youll just make excuses and say it doesnt matter, its the next set of friendlies, or some other arbitrary checkpoint. so-and-so was injured, there was a possible transfer, again- blah, blah, blah.

an identity, some semblance of a style of play, any roster clarification whatever would be great- but the only thing that has been proven consistent under this manager is that we have none of those.

sucking is the only consistent thing, what, $20 mil has bought us. stop making up progress that is in no way based in reality, if for no other reason than itll be easier for you idiotically trying to excuse everything and explain it all away. we arent trending in any direction- we are a really bad team.

the next step we take in any direction under whoevers actually coaching this team will be the first.

 

Poch is the coach through the World Cup, unless he quits for some reason. That's not going to change.

And we know that merely losing matches isn't enough of a wake up call for this group -- we've had like seven of them and rarely seen a response.

So in terms of improvement, what we're looking for going into next year's World Cup:

1. Maybe the long camp of GC and the WC will allow Poch to make some kind of tactical or other headway
2. Poch will figure out that this team is best when aggressive on defense
3. Poch will figure out the motivational dynamic of this roster / they will turn it on for the World Cup
4. We get some improvement at key weak positions like keeper over the next year
5. We happen to get a bit lucky or be hot for the World Cup

So yeah...

#1 seems possible and we'll know soon.

#2 seems possible as well to me, but I don't know why we haven't tried it yet at all. In some ways, if we don't play better, it seems likely.

#3 seems damn unlikley.

#4 seems like something of a Hail Mary given the one year timeline and where we are weakest.

#5 literally is hoping for good luck.

I think we'll play better but we seem so far from good right now.

 

No Pulisic on the roster

Christian Pulisic won’t be on the roster when #USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino names his 26-player squad on Thursday for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, multiple sources tell ⁦@FOXSoccer⁩: https://t.co/bgeZTInFd8

— Doug McIntyre (@ByDougMcIntyre) May 21, 2025

Jedi is the other A team player I won’t be surprised if he’s not there.

 

No Musah, either.

Much less excuse for him.

 

I wonder if that may be a coach’s decision.

 

Performance reasons

 

With what’s been reported

GK: Steffen, Freese, Kochen
LB: Jedi, Tolkin
RB: Dest, Scally, Freeman
CB: Richards, McKenzie, Robinson, Ream
DM: Adams, Cardoso, Tessmann
CM: Berhalter, Sullivan
AM: Tillman, Luna, Paxton Aaronson
WF: Wright, Gutierrez, Brenden Aaronson
FW: Balogun, Sargent, Downs

Zendejas is one I left off with the Club World Cup uncertainty. I’d take Blackmon over Ream but I think zero chance Ream misses. I’d also drop Scally but think it’s likely he’s there. Jedi is one who also needs a rest similar to Pulisic if anyone else on the roster does.

 

Maybe.

If the roster comes out and it's apparent that the whole A team stayed home -- like if Adams, Dest, Richards aren't there -- I may just be done with the team for a while. No one's earned that status.

Ironically, I am more likely to watch the Gold Cup, just to see players who give a shit.

 

No McGlynn?

 

I am 100% in this camp.

I don’t care about the pedigree any more. In that regard, if the pedigree guys do this with the national team, it’s going to be hard to watch them with their clubs.

The disrespect they are showing the program and all of the Americans who paved the way for them is really off-putting.