NEW YORK - It's still a major focus of attention. That's right, when news leaked that U.S. Men's National Team manager Mauricio Pochettino had informed players who didn't make the World Cup roster via email, plenty of people were up in arms over that decision.
Surely a phone call would have been the right decision, right? Right after his official roster was revealed, Pochettino spoke to reporters in Manhattan and the way things were handled was of course brought up. Think Pochettino is having second thoughts about how he decided to give people the tough news? Not a chance.
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“The players didn’t make the roster, they don’t want to hear me apologize,” Poch said with conviction when asked about no phone calls being made. “I care. Do you know why I care? For two weeks I did not sleep. And even today, I cannot enjoy the 26 guys in front of me because I am still thinking about guys that are out. That is to care. If I call, it is about myself. If I call, I say ‘I am very human about calling and giving an explanation.’”
Not only that, but Poch turned plenty of heads when he said that if he did call players to make himself feel better about his final roster, it'd be 'bullshi*' and not fair to everyone - he doubled down on how a phone call would have been a selfish move on his part, but people are being quick to disagree with that.
Tanner Tessmann was among the biggest names left of the USMNT World Cup roster
It goes without saying, but Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann were two of the biggest names left off the squad. A quick look on social media shows that USA supporters aren't too pleased with Tessman not being included in particular, as you've got to think the midfielder who plays for Ligue 1's Lyon would have been ready to make an impact. Poch was also asked about him not being included, with another head-turning answer being delivered.
"No, I don't think we can talk about the players that are not in the roster because I think it's very disrespectful to the players who made the roster - because if we are going to talk about the players that are not in the roster, which player who isn't, that to me is very disrespectful," Pochettino said. "That was my decision to pick that 26 and now we need to respect that, you know, because if someone says okay this guy should be included on the list, then which player is out of the squad?
"I think if you listen to what I said from the beginning, we were working very hard for a year and a half or more to try to arrive in this moment in the best conditions with all the information to make the best decision. It's impossible to be fair to everyone, but I think we made the best decision to be competitive in the end and to try to win."
Pochettino sure stood his ground there with that response, but it still leaves people scratching their heads a bit. Tessmann had a strong end to the season and he was also featured with the USMNT during the friendlies in March. Is there still a chance we see Tessman or Luna on the roster?
It's important to keep in mind that the official roster, per USMNT communications, doesn't have to be finalized until June 1. At the same time, however, a change to the roster can be made by June 11 if a player currently World Cup-bound is injured. With the USA playing Senegal and Germany in friendlies on May 31 and June 6, respectively, a potential injury can't be ruled out. So, the door isn't fully closed for Tessman, Luna and others, but not making the initial 26-man roster is a setback for them regardless of if they found out via email or not.
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