The most notable members of the United States men’s national team squad might be playing at high levels with European sides, but beyond the likes of Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Antonee Robinson, the rest of the side is struggling for consistent minutes. First choice goalkeeper Matt Turner and midfielder Yunus Musah are two of the most notable examples in Mauricio Pochettino’s squad this window not playing regularly but there are others within the pool with similar issues.
Folarin Balogun and Tim Weah have withdrawn from this camp due to injuries and also have been in and out of their XIs. Playing time has been a consistent point that sporting director Matt Crocker and Pochettino have driven home. For USMNT legend Clint Dempsey, though the picture isn’t necessarily so cut and dry.
“For certain players, I think it affects them more than others. Look at the flip side of Christian [Pulisic] where he wasn’t playing much with Chelsea, but when it came to the national team he showed up and showed out.
“But, you need players playing regularly on teams in terms of getting that level of sharpness and fitness to play consistently at a high level. It’s important to have guys on these big teams playing a big part in them as opposed to being on the bench and coming in as a sub. No matter where you’re at, it’s important to play and get that confidence because if you want to have longevity in this game you need to be playing consistently and it keeps you free from injury I think.”
Mentality has certainly been an issue for the national team and that’s where Dempsey’s point about confidence comes into play. It’s a lot easier to be confident in your own abilities when your club is backing you to perform. Athletes are creatures of habit which is why it’s easier to prepare knowing an exact role at all times. Sitting on the bench and not knowing when you may enter can become stressful especially when the goal is to show why you should’ve started to begin with.
Of course, with the demanding schedule of the modern game, overexertion can certainly challenge fitness levels, and lead to injuries. Balogun’s injury may have been random in the grand scheme of things, as he went down with a shoulder injury after scoring a goal but it’s still an injury that will force him to miss this camp. Consistency is important to staying in shape and demands for soccer players are only growing by the day. Despite the key players missing this camp, there are still reasons for optimism.
Most of those reasons come from trust in Pochettino. He’s a manager who has improved players everywhere that he has gone and the expectation is that his system will help improve the team. Just his presence could have quite an impact as well.
“When Jurgen [Klinnsmann] became coach, it was cool to get a coach who had won everything. He won World Cups, he won Champions Leauge and he came in and could demonstrate what he wanted us to do on the pitch,” Dempsey recalls. “I think it’s important to have coaches that have been around big players so they’re not going to be afraid to put people in their place.”
There can be a balance between the two as stint one under Gregg Berhalter was a successful one, despite not coming with that international pedigree, but experimentation at the international level can be good when things aren’t going well. Pochettino won’t be afraid to make changes and push each player to be the best version of themselves possible. He’s an organized manager who will set the USMNT up to succeed in 20206 and beyond.
“I see this team getting back on track. Getting out of their group and going from there depends on who you draw and who you face when you get out of the group, but if they don’t do that, not getting out of the group on home soil would be a failure for me,” Dempsey said on his predictions for 2026.
Expectations are high for Pochettino’s USMNT but there are reasons to believe that they can hit them and get back to their best.
