The Winners, Losers From USMNT’s Faultless World Cup Return

Mauricio Pochettino may have extended his stay at the U.S. men’s national team but the Argentine manager has made it abundantly clear that this is very much a new regime. The program would be “starting from zero” he warned.

It didn’t stay on “zero” for long.

Four wins while jumping around five states in three time zones has afforded Pochettino’s new project the perfect platform from which to build. Results were never at the forefront of the manager’s mind but a faultless return from a somewhat underwhelming World Cup on home soil has given some time for experimentation.

Almost every gamble which Pochettino made paid off during a series of wildly varied victories over Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada. Yet, for each winner on the roster, there was a bitter victim of the USMNT’s success watching from the sidelines.

Fall Friendly Results

Winners

Mauricio Pochettino

After signing a bumper contract through the 2030 World Cup, Pochettino is in a position of power. Nevertheless, a less daring manager would perhaps have picked at least one of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie or Folarin Balogun and fewer than 13 uncapped youngsters. However, Pochettino is in the business of blooding a new generation of talent. There is no time to lose and he came through the biggest leap of faith without a single “L” to his name.

Beyond the tally of 12 goals scored and three conceded across the four straight wins, the USMNT retained that full-throttle approach which has defined the nation’s best performances under Pochettino.

“We played four games in two weeks, and to play always with the same intensity, with the same commitment, with the same passion, that is a thing that we keep,” the demanding manager understandably beamed.

Cavan Sullivan

To be the future you must rewrite history. pic.twitter.com/MID0hojIEy
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) October 4, 2026

Cavan Sullivan was not the USMNT’s best performer this fall; he wasn’t even the best teenager on the roster. However, it is Philadelphia Union’s peroxide-blonde 17-year-old who has been the face of this window for his dexterity as well as his industry.

Pochettino’s star pupil played with an infectious energy which coursed through the entire team. His record-breaking goal against Mexico may have come from a boneheaded blunder by goalkeeper Raúl Rangel, yet the modern perception of players is so often a collection of moments rather than a monument to consistency. Sullivan delivered the clippable content while also running hard enough to win the approval of Pochettino. Job done.

The USMNT’s Other Kids

The USMNT are handing the keys to the kids. pic.twitter.com/cpWbBzfEFb
— Sports Illustrated FC (@SI_FootballClub) September 27, 2026

There were 13 players on Pochettino’s roster who started the international window without a single senior cap. By the end of the intense schedule, the entire baker’s dozen had been given a run-out.

“I think obviously there are a lot of new faces, and they all had great energy and worked very hard while they were here,” mused Gio Reyna, a veritable veteran at the ripe old age of 23.

The hard work doesn’t stop here. If this kindergarten class hopes to have any chance of being reunited in November, their toughest job is only just getting started. “The most difficult thing is how we support these young players,” Pochettino explained.

“The easier thing always is to arrive there and make their debut. But now, how we are going to evolve with them, and how we are going to protect [them]? ... How are we going to make them understand that now they have more responsibility? That is one of the things that we were talking [about] in the dressing room, too.”

Pochettino’s Youngsters

Cavan Sullivan (17)
Mathis Albert (17)
Adri Mehmeti (17)
Julian Hall (18)
Peyton Miller (18)
Neil Pierre (18)
Justin Ellis (19)
Zavier Gozo (19)
Diego Kochen (20)
Cole Campbell (20)
Frankie Westfield (20)
Brooklyn Raines (21)

Gio Reyna

Availability is the best quality and one which has been lacking for so much of Reyna’s young but tumultuous career. However, this window offered some unprecedented whiffs of consistency. Pochettino’s pet project was an ever-present member of an ever-changing starting XI.

That quartet of starts followed on from a run of form for Strasbourg which has now seen Reyna start eight straight matches for club and country for the first time in his entire senior career. For context, he made his professional debut in January 2020.

Rather than dwell on that landmark, Reyna shifted the focus forward. “Honestly, [I’m] more just thinking about keep going now ... just keep building what I’ve been doing, keep showing up every day, training, recovering, doing everything I need to prepare mentally and physically for every training and game,” he shrugged.

“[I] feel good, though. Feeling more confident every time I step on the pitch. It was a good amount of minutes, so just very happy with obviously how this window went, as well.”

Losers

Christian Pulisic

It’s easy to cast those who fall in the shadows of angels as devils. A fully fit and scoring Christian Pulisic was left at home and the biggest story was that it wasn’t much of a story at all.

Everything that Pulisic could have offered was supplied in his absence. Malik Tillman maintained his stellar form from the World Cup as the team’s creative hub while Tyler Adams was the leader as Pochettino’s new captain. Sullivan had enough stardust to sprinkle around and Julian Hall scored the goals. Even Justin Ellis managed to fulfill the classic Pulisic trope of getting injured after a bright performance.

Pulisic has danced between love and hate for the national team throughout his uneasy tenure but the 28-year-old is at risk of falling off the tightrope entirely, tumbling instead into the vicious pit of irrelevance.

Ricardo Pepi

Unlike Pulisic, McKennie or Balogun, Ricardo Pepi did manage to survive the World Cup cull. Fate, instead of Pochettino, intervened to ensure that the PSV Eindhoven striker was dealt a minor injury right on the eve of the international break. Who’s to say whether Hall or Ellis would have been given given nearly as many minutes had Pepi been fit and available? In his absence, the two youngsters combined for five goals in four games. The 23-year-old, in contrast, hasn’t scored an international goal since 2024.

Pepi already faces a battle with Balogun, whose omission seemed to be a question of bad timing rather than any lack of faith from Pochettino. Now he has two more players in the queue for that No. 9 jersey.

Matt Freese

It was an interesting show of faith for Pochettino to stick with Matt Freese for the USMNT’s first fixture after his dire World Cup conclusion. The goalkeeper endured a nightmarish round of 16 defeat to Belgium but got the nod for the visit of Peru. During his 45 minutes on the pitch, the New York City FC shot-stopper conceded the game’s only goal (which he could do little about) and made a single save before getting replaced. He would not feature again this fall.

At 28, Freese does not fit Pochettino’s youthful drive. Brian Schwake and Diego Kochen, a pair of younger understudies, appear to be next in line for that No. 1 spot and spent the remainder of the window duking it out for that honor.

Kochen overcame a shaky start against Mexico to eventually impress in the biggest fixture of the break but it was Schwake who put in the most complete performance, deservedly claiming a clean sheet against Canada. Pochettino has a choice to make in the coming months and years, although it would appear unlikely to see Freese in the conversation.

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