There is no denying the excitement around the USMNT roster for the September-October international break. Even with a few established players sprinkled in, there is an undeniable youth movement in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. There are 13 uncapped players and eight teenagers among the 28 players on the roster.
Needless to say, Pochettino has his eye on the future, including the 2028 Olympics, with a dozen of the players on the roster being age-eligible for the Under-23 event. However, this young roster for a set of four friendlies doesn’t mean the future is now. It’s important for fans to temper expectations for the contingent of youngsters. For them, this camp is merely a progress report on their development and not a guarantee of a future role with the USMNT.
Ready or not
Across the upcoming matches against Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Canada, all of the uncapped players should get a chance to see the field. But there is no guarantee that all of them will be ready to compete at the international level. Even if not all of the USMNT’s opponents during this window are high-quality teams, instant success from the young players is not a given.
Granted, there are bound to be a few who hit the ground running in their national team debut. But that won’t be the case with all of them. Some may need more time to develop and may not be a realistic option for the USMNT until next summer at the Gold Cup. For others, their immediate future may be exclusively with the Under-23 team, with a focus on the Olympics in 2028.
For all of the previously uncapped players, that would be a perfectly acceptable result. Pochettino purposefully brought in players who have great promise and have a chance to contribute at the 2030 World Cup. That doesn’t mean those players are ready to contribute right now. Ultimately, the goal for Pochettino and his staff is to get a sense of how far this contingent of young players is from being a serious option in competitive matches.
The real test comes in November
It won’t be until November, when the U.S. plays a home-and-away quarterfinal in the CONCACAF Nations League, that we will know the current state of the USMNT. For that window, Pochettino will surely bring the strongest side possible, knowing that the U.S. must avenge its failure in the last Nations League and win the competition this time around.
If any of the players who are 20 years old or younger on this roster end up on the November roster, it will be a sign that they are ready to contribute and compete for a starting spot. Just how many players can do that remains to be seen. As long as they’re healthy, players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, and others will surely be involved, reducing the amount of space for younger, unproven players. That’s why the upcoming camp is all about checking the development of young players rather than a sign that they’re all ready to be serious USMNT contributors. As we watch the four upcoming games, fans need to keep that in mind.
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