The U.S. men’s national team will be without many key players for June’s international window and head coach Mauricio Pochettino revealed the status of two of those omissions.
Forward Josh Sargent and midfielder Yunus Musah will not be part of the upcoming June roster, Pochettino confirmed Thursday after releasing his 27-player roster.
The USMNT will face Turkey and Switzerland in a pair of home friendlies before kicking off play in the CONCACAF Gold Cup. It will mark the final competitive tournament for the Americans before hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup next summer.
Sargent, who earned several honors at Norwich City this season, failed to score on international duty last March, continuing a lengthy goal-less drought for the USMNT. The Missouri native tallied 15 goals in 32 league matches for the Canaries, battling back from injury to play a key role in the squad.
However, Pochettino admitted that other forwards were chosen ahead of Sargent in the pecking order, deciding to go with Folarin Balogun, Haji Wright, Brian White, and Damion Downs instead.
“It is a football decision and we wanted to see other forwards so at this time so that is why we decided to not go with Sargent,” Pochettino said in a press conference with media.
Musah, who has one Serie A match remaining with AC Milan this month, has endured a tough second half of the season. The 22-year-old has tied a single season career-high with 40 appearances for the Rossoneri, but overall hasn’t remained a consistent starter in the squad.
While his performances have been up-and-down in 2025, Pochettino admitted that wasn’t the reason why Musah was left out.
“For Musah he communicated to us a personal reason, so he needed to withdraw from involvement,” Pochettino said. “He was originally set to be in the roster, but we had to change things around.”
Sargent and Musah are two of several key omissions from the squad this summer, which also includes Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Tanner Tessmann.
The USMNT will be aiming for a bounce-back summer, knowing that opportunities are running out before the World Cup’s bright lights flip on in 2026.
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