‘Upset’—How Players Learned They Were Cut From the USMNT’s World Cup Roster

Mauricio Pochettino did not make a phone call to the players that failed to make his final USMNT selection.

Diego Luna was a surprising omission from the USMNT’s World Cup squad. | Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images

For nearly every soccer player, playing in the World Cup is the ultimate goal, especially in the tournament happens on home soil.

On Tuesday, 26 young men learned their fate as the newest World Cup-bound athletes set to represent the U.S. men’s national team on the sport’s grandest stage. Yet, for 29 others, it came with a crushing feeling of what could have been.

USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino had to name a 55-man preliminary squad to FIFA in early May, indicating which players could crack his final World Cup roster, as unveiled in New York City this week. Yet, he reportedly didn’t speak with any of the players who didn’t make the final cut. Instead, he sent an email informing them. 

It’s not a far cry from his past communications—or lack thereof—with U.S. players, either. Previously, he admitted that he does not talk with players outside of national team camps, a stark contrast to many international coaches, including manager Jesse Marsch, who called himself an “agent” and mentor towards his Canadian men’s national players. 

For those World Cup hopefuls who missed out on the final cut, the feeling is utter devastation. For those who snagged a spot, it is utter relief. Those feelings played a role in the roster leaking three days before the announcement, with players quickly circulating the news to their families, friends and agents, among others.

“We got the email at the same time, so I talked to him,” 19-year-old Real Salt Lake standout Zavier Gozo told The Guardian about how he and teammate Diego Luna discussed their snubs. “I honestly think he should be on the team. I was upset for him, and obviously he’s upset as well. So I think he’s the same way. I think he’s just gonna keep working hard.”

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Pochettino Avoids Confrontation, Conflict

Mauricio Pochettino isn't one for conflict with his players. | Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Despite 54-year-old Pochettino being of a generation that uses the phone call feature more often than the Gen Z and Millennial players he leads, it has become evident that he avoids confrontation. 

Oftentimes, that has meant directing his opinions more toward the media as opposed to having conversations with his own players—as highlighted by a dramatic summer without Christian Pulisic in 2025—and now, emailing to make his final World Cup cuts. 

“Nothing to talk about,” Pochettino said when asked whether he had communicated with Pulisic, before the star attacker pulled out of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Yet, it didn’t stop either of them from making remarks in the media about the situation. 

“The most important thing is that we explained why we decided not to include [Pulisic],” Pochettino added in an interview. “If you have some problems, no, that is not my problem to understand. I am the head coach, I am not a mannequin.”

And as for the World Cup cuts? The Argentine manager didn’t see the value in making a phone call.

“It doesn’t mean that we don’t care, because we care a lot, but we don’t want to say anything to confuse the player,” he said Tuesday, admitting that he had not talked to any of the 29 named to the 55-man roster and not the final team. “If I understand the player that didn't make the roster, they don’t want to hear me apologize... Maybe if I call, then it’s about myself, and I am very human about calling and then giving an explanation, but come on, that is bulls--t.”

Most of it is well-intentioned. Unlike some other national teams, Pochettino didn’t want to call up more than 26 players for the pre-World Cup friendlies, for fear of sparking frustrations and additional heartbreak with last-second cuts.

In the past, Landon Donovan admitted to breaking down in tears after Jürgen Klinsmann cut him from the final squad for Brazil in 2014, and Jeff Agoos famously burned his kit when he was dropped by Bora Milutinović in 1994, the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup.

Pochettino avoided those situations, but for some players, it meant receiving one of the most heartbreaking phone notifications, with summer plans fixed to an email.

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