It was reasonable to expect that Mauricio Pochettino’s first United States squad after this summer’s World Cup would turn the page for a new cycle.
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squad → expect → cycle
Instead, given the youthfulness of his selections, even a fast-forward reference feels like too dated a reference.
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reference → give → reference
Cavan Sullivan is poised to make his US senior debut, with the 16-year-old chosen for Pochettino’s 28-man squad for the September/October window.
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old → poise → window
Sullivan is one of 13 players who could debut for the national team in the coming weeks, with four friendlies to be played across the country.
uncertain
who → debut → country
Should he see the field, Sullivan would become the fourth-youngest player to represent the US, a record still held by Freddy Adu.
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Sullivan → see → Adu
Several members of the World Cup squad have been omitted to make way for the youth movement.
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members → omit → movement
Christian Pulisic misses out after a slow start to his season with Milan, where he has been a bench option for Ruben Amorim.
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he → miss → Amorim
Weston McKennie is also absent, having missed most of Juventus’s young season with muscle fatigue.
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McKennie → miss → fatigue
Folarin Balogun misses out too, probably due to a lack of minutes after his failed transfer to Everton.
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Balogun → miss → Everton
In total, nine selections enter this window with at least 30 senior caps: defenders Chris Richards, Miles Robinson, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest; midfielders Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Malik Tillman and Gio Reyna; and striker Ricardo Pepi.
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selections → enter → caps
Eight of those players was part of Pochettino’s 2026 World Cup squad, while Musah has been called up for the first time since before the 2025 Gold Cup.
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Musah → call → Cup
Other returnees from the World Cup include Matt Freese, Chris Brady, Alex Freeman, Auston Trusty, and Sebastian Berhalter.
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returnees → include → Freese
Hello, Cavan
Sullivan has been in blistering form with Philadelphia, earning a place in interim coach Ryan Richter’s lineup after MLS’s World Cup break.
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Sullivan → earn → break
The Union academy product has six goals and 11 assists in 1,368 league minutes this year, stoking incredible hype.
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product → have → hype
Sullivan turns 17 on 28 September, two days after the United States’ first friendly (against Peru) and on the eve of their second (against Chile).
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Sullivan → turn → Chile
He’s joined by a pair of club teammates for their shared first camp, defenders Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield.
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He → join → camp
Fresh faces
Pochettino has picked several more of the nation’s most promising prospects.
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Pochettino → pick → prospects
Zavier Gozo could debut after leaving boyhood Real Salt Lake for Crystal Palace this summer, while 18-year-old Peyton Miller – a possible future left-back currently playing right wing in New England – is also on the squad.
uncertain
Miller → debut → squad
Two uncapped goalkeepers join Matt Freese and Chris Brady: 20-year-old Diego Kochen, a Barcelona product earning starts on loan at Lyngby, and 25-year-old Brian Schwake, the backstop of runaway MLS favorite Nashville SC.
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goalkeepers → join → SC
Polish-American dual national striker Julian Hall is MLS’s top-scoring teenager with nine goals and his off-ball movement could make him a factor to score immediately.
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him → score → ball
Adri Mehmeti is another regular in Michael Bradley’s lineups in New Jersey; a 17-year-old midfield anchor who’s already very comfortable shepherding sequences of sustained possession with recirculation and upfield initiative alike.
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who → ’ → recirculation
Other first-time selections come as a greater surprise, though few knew how wholesale of changes Pochettino would make from this summer’s 26-man roster.
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Pochettino → come → roster
Justin Ellis is a 19-year-old attacker who has thrived operating off of new Orlando teammate Antoine Griezmann.
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who → thrive → Griezmann
Borussia Dortmund product Mathis Albert has often split billing with Sullivan as this US generation’s top prospects, but still hasn’t become a regular with the German club’s reserve team.
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Albert → split → team
Brooklyn Raines, a 21-year-old midfielder for New England, could become the third US international to hail from Liberia.
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Raines → become → Liberia
Doc Lawson became the first with his sole USMNT cap in 1979, while Darlington Nagbe represented the U.S. on 25 occasions.
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Nagbe → become → occasions
Looking to LA 2028
The introduction of so many fresh faces is also being done with an eye towards the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in Los Angeles.
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which → look → Angeles
Steve Cherundolo, who earned 87 caps with the US before winning MLS Cup as Los Angeles FC manager, will lead the U-23 team that summer.
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who → earn → team
While Olympic rules allow teams to field three players above the age limit at the tournament, having a bevy of dependable young options affords a coach the chance to use those “over-age” players to maximize the team’s potential rather than filling gaps, as Marko Mitrovic had to do in 2024 by using two of his three over-age picks on center-backs.
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Mitrovic → allow → backs
The Aporia
