USMNT roster: Gio Reyna returns but Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Tim Weah all miss out

Gio Reyna was named to the U.S. men’s national team roster for the first time since March, the midfielder just one of several fresh faces on the November squad as head coach Mauricio Pochettino once again goes with an experimental approach.

This month’s roster features 11 players who did not participate in the October friendlies, a 1-1 draw with Ecuador and a 2-1 win over Australia, some of the turnover explained by player availability. Tyler Adams returns after missing last month’s matches while awaiting the birth of his second child, while Sergino Dest and Ricardo Pepi are back in the fold after recovering from some injuries. A handful of the notable exclusions are down to injury, too – Christian Pulisic picked up a hamstring issue against Australia, while Antonee Robinson has been dealing with a knee injury for several months now.

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Even then, some of the absences – and inclusions – are more notable than others. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, the 2022 World Cup starter who has not played for the USMNT since June, was left off, as were fellow World Cup veterans Weston McKennie and Tim Weah after playing in the October games. Reyna, meanwhile, is back in the mix for the first time since his summertime move to Borussia Monchengladbach in a desperate need for playing time and is joined by club and country teammate Joe Scally in his first call-up in months.

“We started one year ago and for different reasons and circumstances, we didn’t have the possibility to see all the players with us, perform with us and behave with us and to explain [what] we expect from them,” Pochettino said in a press conference Thursday ahead of his penultimate international break before the World Cup. “That is why it is a good opportunity now to have a player like Gio that is special. I think we are going to be [in agreement] that Gio is a special player. It’s to give the possibility to be with us.”

The USMNT continue their preparation for the 2026 World Cup with a friendly against Paraguay on Nov. 15 and one against Uruguay on Nov. 18. Both of this month’s opponents have already qualified for next summer’s tournament, with Uruguay serving as the latest opponent in FIFA’s top 30 to face the U.S. en route to the World Cup.

USMNT November roster

GOALKEEPERS (4): Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)

DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergino Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse FC), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel), Auston Trusty (Celtic)

MIDFIELDERS (7): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Gio Reyna (Borussia Monchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)

FORWARDS (5): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City)

“Common sense” to leave off Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie

Pulisic has not played since coming off injured against Australia but could return to the pitch when AC Milan play Parma on Saturday, though it is currently unclear how many minutes he will be able to play. Since he will be in the early stages of his recovery next week when the USMNT reconvene, Pochettino said calling him up would not be worth the risk.

“It’s not common sense to call a player,” Pochettino said. “It’s true, it was a small injury. It’s to provide him the possibility to recover 100%, be full and be ready to play after the international duty with his [club] team. It’s common sense. We never risk players. He played against Australia because he really [felt] really good and because all the assessments from our doctors and medical staff was right and the player agreed with us. He didn’t play against Ecuador because he came to camp with some problem that he [had], again, with his club in Italy.”

McKennie is fit but will stay in Italy this month and continue to train with Juventus. The Turn-based club replaced manager Igor Tudor with Luciano Spaletti last week and though McKennie has played in each of Spaletti’s first games in charge, Pochettino believes it is more beneficial for the player to stay in Turin and further ingratiate himself with his new club manager.

“With a new coach arriving in a new club, you can see that Weston is playing all the games,” Pochettino said, “but now I think this next few weeks, the possibility for the new coach to work with the players there and not to compete, I think it’s important for Weston to be there and to try to convince the coach [to] keep playing. I think it’s more important that than being with us because we already know what he can provide the team.”

Gio Reyna returns

On skill alone, Reyna is easily one of the most notable players in the USMNT’s talent pool but things have rarely gone according to plan for a player with plenty of promise. The 22-year-old is injury-plagued but even at full fitness, he has struggled for regular playing time at the club level. Reyna has only 10-plus league games in a season once in his entire career – the 2020-21 season with Borussia Dortmund – and has not played a 90-minute league match since 2022. That level of inactivity meant he slid down the national team’s depth chart, even if the years-old family feud with ex-USMNT head coach Gregg Berhalter was removed from the equation.

Even as Reyna said he would not “take all the blame” for the drama that ensued after the 2022 World Cup, rooted in reports that he was nearly kicked off the team for “not meeting expectations on and off the field,” the player did admit that his USMNT destiny was in his own hands. Playing time at the club level is a must for Pochettino and though Reyna has started just once for Monchengladbach, injuries again hampering his ability to play, he is steadily building some match fitness. It was enough to earn at least one more look from Pochettino, who seems intent on learning as much about everyone in the player pool as possible before locking in his World Cup roster.

“We already know Gio, the potential of Gio and the talent. He has enormous talent and it’s true that he’s not playing too much but I think it’s a good opportunity in November because until March, we are not going to be together again,” Pochettino said. “More than to perform on the pitch, it’s more about to be with him, to share time, to know [him] better. … Now he’s start[ing] to be fit again and I think it can be a boost of motivation for him to be with us. That is an important thing for us.”

Forward race heats up

The USMNT’s results have trended upward in recent months, in large part because the team now boasts a handful of forwards who are in impressive form. After an injury-plagued year, Folarin Balogun has two goals and one assist in his last four games for the national team, while Haji Wright bagged a brace against Australia in his first start under Pochettino. The pair have coupled that with strong performances for their club teams and for November, another in-form player will join them – Ricardo Pepi. The PSV striker is back with the national team for the first time in a year, spending much of that time dealing with a knee injury. He has picked up from where he left off at the club level, though – he has five goals in 12 games across all competitions, most recently a stoppage-time equalizer in PSV’s 1-1 draw at Olympiacos on Tuesday.

Diego Luna, meanwhile, joins the forward ranks this time around after months of being listed as a midfielder. Pochettino’s switch to a back three in recent months has forced a little positional restructure in all areas of the pitch and while Luna’s minutes in midfield dwindled in October, Pochettino feels there’s another role on the team he’s well-suited for.

“For me, he’s an offensive player,” Pochettino said. “He’s an offensive midfielder that can play like a second striker, that can play on the side like a winger, like a No. 10. I see him more offensive than [as] a midfielder that only can contain the ball and play. I think he’s a player, even if you want to play him a little bit more deep, he’s a player that has the capacity, the continuity in every single situation to arrive to the box and to try to score goals because his mentality and his characteristics, every time we are in possession, he wants to score and when a player has this mentality, he’s a striker. He’s an offensive player. That is why he’s in that place.”

Matt Freese, the new No. 1?

Even as Pochettino opts for experimentation, a trend seems to be emerging in the goalkeeper position. The job now feels like Matt Freese’s to lose, the New York City FC shot-stopper going from relative obscurity to starting 11 of their last 12 matches. Those 11 caps make him the most experienced ‘keeper on the roster, with 2022 World Cup starter Turner nowhere to be seen. He was named to the October roster but did not play a single minute. Freese is now flanked by goalkeepers with little experience. It is too early to suggest Turner might not crack the World Cup roster, but his days as the team’s go-to in goal may be over with Pochettino perhaps focusing on giving Freese as much experience as possible before the big event.