This is the most MLS-heavy squad Pochettino has selected during non-January camps, just 10 months before a World Cup
Luis Robles thinks about it all the time. The former New York Red Bulls goalkeeper, who tallied 281 appearances in MLS, as well as a handful for his country, is constantly pondering MLS's place in the global football hierarchy. In some ways, he has to – not least because he leads MLS's youth soccer efforts in the United States.
But even outside of his workplace, it is something he ponders.
What is the relative strength of Major League Soccer these days? Can it pip some of Europe's best? Does it lie just outside the global elite? That conversation has long simmered just below the surface, and crops up seemingly every time a new USMNT roster is released. Each squad is picked apart, and the presence of MLS talent – or lack thereof – dominating the dialogue.
Yet this time, the conversation has intensified. Sure, the headline for the USMNT's upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan is the return of Christian Pulisic after a summer of chaos and controversy. The AC Milan star represents the best of Americans Abroad making an impact in the top leagues in Europe.
Yet the subtext of the roster is also curious. Mauricio Pochettino went all in on MLS, justifying his decision to select 13 domestic players to his roster for a pair of upcoming friendlies – 10 months from the 2026 World Cup – by claiming that America's top flight might be better than some European setups.
"We need to give MLS the value because competing there, I think the players can show that they can perform in the national team," Pochettino said after announcing the current roster. "I think it's not necessary to move to from MLS to Europe, because sometimes the MLS – under my assessment – maybe is more competitive than some leagues in Europe. We have some players competing in different leagues that maybe are not so competitive, or in every single week compete in the same way that you compete in the MLS every single week."
And thus the debate has reappeared. Some big names in European leagues have been left at home. This is the most MLS-heavy squad Pochettino has selected during non-January camps, just 10 months before a World Cup. And it might just suggest that something is changing as the United States ponders its domestic league's position in the world.
Yet what, exactly, that means is hard to define amid a divided landscape.
"It may be better for the individual to go to a European setup. You cannot have a blanket statement," former USMNT star and current Apple TV analyst Taylor Twellman told GOAL.
Getty Images Sport'It's not easy to play in MLS'
This is, of course, a complex debate that has always sort of simmered. The stats suggest that MLS is significantly behind Europe's top leagues. Opta's most recent relative power index had the setup as the 12th best league in the world – behind the English Championship, Belgian Pro League and Brazilian top flight, among others.
According Opta data, the only real bragging right MLS has is being slighty better than Liga MX – perhaps a more realistic point of North American comparison. But from day one, Pochettino has reinforced the notion that he will be heavily supportive of MLS, and value the talent coming from the league. He outlined as such in his inaugural news conference.
"I think to send the message to everyone," he said, "not only the players that were involved in the last few games, not only the players that play in Europe, but the players that play here in the USA and in MLS, if not every single player that is around the world, we are going to try to pay attention and from now on they have the door open."
He selected just four MLS players in his first squad, but has consistently increased the numbers since then. Such decisions have drawn plenty of talk – and some complaints – around the extended American soccer universe, with split opinions as to how, exactly, MLS talent should be valued, not to mention where the league stands at large. Pochettino has insisted that the physicality of the league puts it among the best in the world.
"It's not easy to play in [MLS]. It's very physical – all of the players who have played here for a long time say 'Gaffer, it is very competitive.' They have very good discipline, they train very well," he said in November 2024.
AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'It might shock people'
And since then, he has added more-and-more MLS players to his rosters. The January camp, of course, was MLS heavy, especially given the fact that it lands in the middle of the European season.
But the current iteration was the crux of it all. A series of big-name European players – Weston McKennie, Johnny Cardoso, Malik Tillman among them – were all left off the squad, some due to injury. In their place, Pochettino went all-in on MLS.
The word from the camp was that some Europeans had been left with their clubs due to a need to rehab and settle into the season. Some were skeptical. Some ex-USMNT players, for their part, insisted that MLS should be taken seriously.
Former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard, who spent the majority of his career in the Premier League, pointed out the value of promoting domestic football.
"It's a silly argument. Obviously it's good that Pochettino sees how valuable it is. I know the value of both playing in Europe and an MLS. They're both important, it's about rhythm, it's about timing. So I'm OK with it," he said on his podcast.
Others have been supportive of the notion – and claimed that it speaks to a larger trend. Former MLS and USMNT star Alexi Lalas claimed that Pochettino's words can make a substantive difference.
“There is a part of me that is so happy to hear Mauricio Pochettino say this,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. "Saying something like this… and saying it publicly is blowing minds. Because as we know, the MLS Derangement Syndrome out there shows no sign of abating. And so it makes me happy that he is being this positive about MLS and about MLS’ quality and about American players, relative to the national team that play in MLS.“
Getty Images'Case by case basis'
But others have argued that the relative strength is irrelevant – and case-by-case player situations have to be made. In other words: leagues don't matter, players and playing time does.
"The conversation is, 'Why are you calling in MLS players?' And [Pochettino] is telling them 'I'm calling a player based on the competitive environment that they're in,'" Twellman said.
He argued that some players simply don't need to prove themselves to the manager at this point in the World Cup cycle.
"He's not calling in Johnny Cardoso right now. That has nothing to do with Johnny Cardoso not being in his picture," Twellman said. "He wants Johnny Cardoso to be the best player he can be for Atletico Madrid, and in his mind, he's going to look at more players this last window before the final three or four."
In some cases, that is true. There are some European players who figure to be part of the USMNT setup at the World Cup who are yet to appear for Pochettino. Folarin Balogun, who started at Copa America but has since struggled with injury, is one such example, as is Sergino Dest. Balogun knows that he has to perform this camp.
"It was important for me to be back with the team. Everyone wants to make an impression. And I think that’s just natural, with such a big competition coming in 10 months, it’s important to leave your mark," he told reporters this week.
Yet there are some names that would seem to be fortunate to be given a chance. Roman Celentano and Jonathan Klinsmann, who share a combined zero caps, are perhaps further down the depth chart. Yet they have been included – something Howard questioned.
"Like I'm saying Celentano, Klinsmann, you’re nowhere near the frame. So who are your goalkeepers? He has to start making decisions, so who are your goalkeepers" Howard said of Pochettino. "The guys in camp, they’re not going to be going to a World Cup. So, Matt Freese, Zack Steffan, Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte. Get those guys in a room and go, ‘Hey, I'm picking three from four of you. You've got 10 months to give me everything you got, battle it out.'"
(C)Getty Images'It's just competition'
The players themselves have insisted that they don't care about the pedigree of the squad, and instead remain dialed in on winning. Tim Ream, who spent a decade with Fulham but now plays for Charlotte FC, said that global leagues become irrelevant when a national team is pieced together.
"I think it's just competition in general," Ream told reporters.. "Again, it's one of those things where we don't really look at the roster and say, 'Oh, there's this many guys in from this league, or there's this many guys in from Europe.' To us, it's competition… You have to go out there and earn your place, and earn your spot."
He acknowledged, though, that the team is aware of the debate.
"It's talked about a lot, but it's not discussed in any way amongst ourselves," he said.
Robles asserted that Ream might be a bit off the mark – but acknowledged that they outline a clear target.
"It feels a little hyperbolic, but the goal is to get to that," Robles said.
And some players are clearly cognizant of the changes. Goalkeeper Matt Turner sat on the bench for first Crystal Palace and then Nottingham Forest before moving to the New England Revolution on loan this summer. He admitted that part of the impetus behind the move was to get reps and force himself into the national team picture. For him, it made sense. Turner started at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but has lost the No. 1 shirt since Pochettino took over.
"I'm going to just keep working hard, keep trusting what the coaching staff have said to me and sent messages to me, and then just hopefully be back in October," he said last week.