United States men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino named a 22-player roster on Tuesday for upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan, and it features a recall of several players who sat out the Gold Cup, including AC Milan's Christian Pulisic, PSV Eindhoven's Sergiño Dest and Marseille's Tim Weah.
There were some notable exclusions, however, headed by Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie. There is also no place for Giovanni Reyna and Matt Turner, who both switched clubs in recent weeks to Borussia Mönchengladbach and the New England Revolution, respectively.
The U.S. will face South Korea on Sept. 6 in Harrison, New Jersey, followed by the match against Japan three days later in Columbus, Ohio. Pochettino will name an additional player to bring the roster up to 23 players at a later date.
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Pulisic returns after sitting out the Gold Cup due to fatigue, which caused some heated back-and-forth between former U.S. players and Pulisic about his commitment to the squad. Weah returns after securing a loan to Marseille from Juventus, for which he participated in the Club World Cup.
Dest's return is most welcome given his ability to get forward and create scoring opportunities from his right back position. The callup is his first since tearing his ACL last season.
"We continue to strengthen the squad and narrow in on the pool of players who can help us achieve our goals at the 2026 FIFA World Cup," Pochettino said. "We have a number of players just returning from injuries or who have had very limited minutes in the last couple months, so they can take this moment to continue to build fitness and sharpness for the upcoming opportunities in the fall."
The aforementioned injuries affected the status of players who weren't called in, such as Derby County's Patrick Agyemang (hernia) and Bayer Leverkusen's Malik Tillman (muscle strain). Also not called up are several players have just also just returned to the field after lengthy absences, including AS Monaco's Folarin Balogun, PSV Eindhoven's Ricardo Pepi and Fulham's Antonee Robinson.
Yet the list of absences also includes several players who were not affected by injuries. The biggest surprise is McKennie, who has seen his playing time diminish during preseason and the start of the Serie A campaign. McKennie came on as a substitute in Juventus' opening Serie A match of the season on Saturday. Juventus said later that McKennie was the target of racist abuse during the win over Parma.
AC Milan midfielder Yunus Musah, who is the subject of transfer rumors and missed the Gold Cup, was also not called up.
Other high-profile exclusions are Reyna, Turner and Atletico Madrid's Johnny Cardoso, though all three are starting with new clubs this season. Turner was replaced as the team's No. 1 goalkeeper at the Gold Cup by Matt Freese, who retains his place.
Toulouse defender Mark McKenzie, who has looked sharp to begin the club season in France is another notable absentee.
Those absences have opened the door for several uncapped players. These include FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano, Cesena goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann -- son of former U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann -- FC Augsburg defender Noahkai Banks and Vancouver Whitecaps defender Tristan Blackmon.
Other notable inclusions are Club América winger Alejandro Zendejas, who returns for the first time since November 2024, and Norwich City's Josh Sargent, who has been in electric form for Norwich City, scoring four goals in his last four appearances.
Full roster
Goalkeeper (3): Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 7/0), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena/ITA; 0/0)
Defenders (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 10/1), Noahkai Banks (FC Augsburg/GER; 0/0), Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 0/0), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 33/2), Alex Freeman (Orlando City; 7/0), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union; 1/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 74/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 31/3)
Midfielders (6): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG; 50/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 6/0), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC; 31/1), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake; 12/3), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo; 11/2), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew; 1/0)
Forwards (5): Damion Downs (Southampton/ENG; 5/0), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 78/32) Josh Sargent (Norwich/ENG; 28/5), Tim Weah (Marseille/FRA; 44/7), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 11/1)