Pochettino's to-do list: What the USMNT must figure out before World Cup

There are still so many questions, and now, there really is so little time for U.S. men’s national team manager Mauricio Pochettino to get his side ready for this summer’s FIFA World Cup.

The conclusion of the March international window means no more camps, no more friendlies and no more experiments, at least before the World Cup roster is announced on May 26. On that date, Pochettino will have to lock in his choices on which players will join him in the World Cup cauldron. From there, he’ll have a pre-World Cup camp in which to hopefully get this team fully ready for competition.

Getting to that point is a different story.

“I think this was the end of our cycle, or our trajectory, and preparation for the World Cup,” Pochettino said after Tuesday’s friendly defeat to Portugal. “I think [this] is the end because the next roster is going to be the roster that is going to be involved. I think it’s too many things that we need to assess and to see in the next few weeks.”

Indeed, it is too many things. The hope was that there would be more clarity, but here we are. Here are just some of the issues Pochettino needs to sort out.

Get. Pulisic. Going.

News flash: Christian Pulisic is going to score again. That might even happen as soon as Saturday, when AC Milan take on Udinese. As we’ve seen this season, though, success with Milan doesn’t necessarily translate to the USMNT. The last time Pulisic scored for the U.S. was on Nov. 19, 2024, in a Concacaf Nations League match against Jamaica. Injuries have played a part in this, but eight appearances without a goal is the longest such stretch in his international career.

In terms of where Pulisic should line up, one choice that hopefully won’t be repeated is playing him as a central striker, where he played against Portugal. Not only does it invite more confrontations with center backs, it robs the U.S. of having Folarin Balogun — the most complete forward the USMNT has had in ages — on the field.

Pulisic seems to operate closer to his best with the USMNT when he’s deployed on the left as one of the twin No. 10s that Pochettino used for a while, including the Japan friendly in September. That just happens to be the last game in which Pulisic had a goal contribution for the U.S., when he assisted on a Balogun strike. In that instance, he is a little further away from opposition center backs and has a bit more freedom to run at people. Against Japan, Pulisic had 39 carries and six take-ons in 66 minutes of playing time, compared to 20 and two in 45 minutes against Portugal.

Granted, Japan is a less heralded opponent, but the point still stands: Play Pulisic as a No. 10, and you’ll get the best out of both him and Balogun.

Choosing his center backs: who and how many?

Chris Richards is a lock to start in the backline assuming he’s available, but who should play beside him in the center of defense? It’s almost a wide-open competition, which isn’t exactly optimal with little more than two months until the World Cup.

Tim Ream has looked short of his best for much of this calendar year, whether you’re talking about club or country. Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty have also had their ups and downs. Miles Robinson missed a glorious chance to make an impression in the March window, only to be felled by a groin injury. That might leave an opening for Tristan Blackmon — although he hasn’t been called into camp since September due to injuries of his own, he is healthy now.

The uncertainty leaves one wondering what this will all mean for Pochettino’s tactical approach. The U.S. looked solid against Japan by playing five in the back while in a low block, with the wingbacks free to get forward when in possession. It was an interesting approach in that it reduced the amount of space Ream was asked to defend. Since then, though, Pochettino has used a hybrid approach with four in the back, and one of the outside backs given the same level of freedom to push forward.

In the March window, that outside back was usually Antonee Robinson. While it was good to see the Fulham man back in the fold after a long injury absence, his forays forward sometimes left the U.S. exposed, with Portugal’s Bruno Fernandes exploiting that space in Tuesday’s match. Pochettino mentioned postgame that Robinson needed to make sure the U.S. had secure possession of the ball before opting to move into attack.

When it comes to both personnel and tactics there don’t appear to be any easy answers. There are roughly two months left to find clarity.

Determine whether Reyna is a gamble worth taking

Gio Reyna‘s inclusion on the March roster was among the hot topics as the window opened, though it proved to be a footnote once the team got together, as he played a combined 31 minutes over the two matches with little to no impact. While he was tidy on the ball (he completed 21 of 22 passes), only one of those passes was into the attacking third.

Call it the roaring silence.

So Pochettino is now left in the same position he occupied before the March window. The best-case scenario is that Reyna starts to get some playing time with club side Borussia Mönchengladbach (his five-minute cameo on Saturday was his first club appearance since Jan. 17) and provides some indication that he can contribute in June.

If he doesn’t get on the field, though — and there has been little indication that he will — what then? Does Pochettino burn a roster spot on Reyna in the hope that he might do something magical? Or does he turn to someone like Club América‘s Alejandro Zendejas, or Real Salt Lake‘s Diego Luna? Only one of those three figures to be on the World Cup roster.

Of course, all of this assumes that Reyna will be healthy, which, sadly, the player has demonstrated is hardly a guarantee.

A lack of chance creation was an issue for the U.S. at Qatar 2022. Who Pochettino chooses to be that attacking spark off the bench could be critical to the Americans’ chances of a memorable tournament run.

Identify Adams’ running mate in midfield

Granted, at the root of this question is an assumption that Tyler Adams will be available. He has been sidelined twice by injuries in the past four months, so Pochettino and his staff will have fingers crossed that he’s healthy come June.

As far as who partners with Adams in the center of midfield, the answer to that is connected to where Weston McKennie plays. The Juventus stalwart has been the epitome of versatility this season, lining up in at least five different positions, depending on the formation. With the U.S., the options appear to be either partner with Pulisic as one of the twin No. 10s or sit further back alongside Adams.

McKennie appears to fit the former better given his preference to push forward, occasionally at the expense of his defensive duties. But if Pochettino continues to give Malik Tillman playing time, slotting McKennie deeper would be the best way to get both on the field.

If McKennie plays closer to goal, Lyon‘s Tanner Tessmann has the inside track to get into the lineup, although Atlético Madrid‘s Johnny Cardoso can’t be ruled out. Tessmann provides more of a lock-down defensive presence, while Cardoso is a bit cleaner on the ball.

The pair both seem to be ahead of options like the Seattle Sounders‘ Cristian Roldan, Middlesbrough‘s Aidan Morris and the Vancouver Whitecaps‘ Sebastian Berhalter.

Decide which bubble players will be part of his team

Pochettino is already dreading having to make the final cuts to the roster, saying before the Belgium game, “I’m already suffering two months in advance.”

He certainly has some tough decisions to make.

Reyna, Zendejas and Luna appear to be vying for one attacking midfield place. In terms of the central midfielders, Adams, Cardoso, Roldan and Tessmann figure to be in. That leaves room for one of Berhalter and Morris. but maybe neither if Pochettino opts for four forwards. Do you pick set piece artistry (Berhalter) or a bulldog in midfield (Morris)? Berhalter seems to have inched ahead, but there are still two months left for that to change.

One selection headache may have been made for Pochettino.

There had been a question of whether to take three or four forwards, leaving a battle between Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright and Patrick Agyemang to be the backups to Balogun. On Monday, though, Agyemang suffered an Achilles injury that Derby County announced on Tuesday would rule him out of the World Cup. As a result, Josh Sargent may still have something to say in that conversation.