Christian Pulisic left off USMNT Gold Cup roster: Mauricio Pochettino takes needless risk with star’s absence

As head coach of the U.S. men's national team — and well-credentialed to hold that position — Mauricio Pochettino is well within his right to make executive decisions to leave certain key players off this summer's Gold Cup roster, prioritizing their health after a long club season.

He also wears the blame for any potential repercussions of such decisions.

With the mission-critical 2026 FIFA World Cup just one year away — and no competitive minutes available to prepare past this summer's Gold Cup — Pochettino has taken on an enormous risk in his reported decision to rest the likes of Christian Pulisic for the entire tournament.

MORE: Full USMNT schedule for 2025 calendar year

In a vacuum, Pochettino's decision is an entirely reasonable one. Pulisic is 49 minutes away from his career high for a single season, and with more and more games being added to the schedule every year, the strain on players has increased drastically.

Resting key players for less prestigious competitions like the Gold Cup is certainly a decision that previous USMNT head coaches have made in the not-so-distant past, so what's the big deal?

That is precisely the big deal. Past USMNT coaches have made this very same decision, and it has cost them dearly.

Some of the most vocal main critiques of the USMNT failures from the past few cycles hinge around decisions exactly such as these. There has often been a clear lack of chemistry between the U.S. players, often leading them to fail at being greater than the sum of their parts. The USMNT has, on multiple occasions over the past few years, been beaten by lesser teams on paper, but those who perform with a togetherness the U.S. squad could only dream of.

Add in the perception amongst the fanbase that the USMNT players have been treated with kid gloves in recent years — certainly, at least, under previous head coach Gregg Berhalter, who was well-known publicly as a "player's coach."

For all his long and glittering resume throughout top-level football management, Pochettino is in his first career national team job. He lacks the ability to draw from past experiences in situations like these.

But Pochettino also has unfettered access to those within U.S. Soccer who have been through situations like this, those who will know that a glaring lack of chemistry has felled the USMNT repeatedly in recent years.

With the significant majority of his career spent in a club environment where week-to-week fitness management was of paramount importance, Pochettino is clearly making decisions reminiscent of his days at Tottenham, PSG, or Chelsea.

It would behoove Pochettino to use his long stretches of time between national team windows to do a deep dive into the mistakes made by his predecessors.

If he needs some help narrowing down where to look, here's some help: A brief on how Gregg Berhalter's use of a B-squad at the 2021 Gold Cup may have earned a trophy but left the USMNT underprepared for the 2022 World Cup the following year. A bit of research into how Bruce Arena's decision to experiment at the 2017 Gold Cup only just predated their disaster at the end of 2018 World Cup qualifying. Or a peek at how Jurgen Klinsmann's decision to rest Clint Dempsey and Jozy Altidore at the 2013 Gold Cup failed to prevent a crippling injury to Altidore at the 2014 World Cup which contributed to their Round of 16 exit.

No, decisions like this do not come with direct, perceptible consequences, but they do make a difference. They have made a difference in the past, and they will continue to make a difference in the future.

It's entirely possible that Pulisic and others come back rejuvenated and enjoy a strong 2025/26 club season that, in turn, leads to a run of form that carries over into the 2026 World Cup. In that instance, Pochettino will be vindicated, as all managers are when their decisions lead to successful outcomes.

But if the U.S. looks devoid of ideas in the final third against a bunkered opponent months down the road, think back to moments like this where Pochettino failed to learn from the mistakes of those before him. Given such history, the potential benefits from calculated risks like this feel significantly devalued by the potential pitfalls.

With such monumental stakes riding on the team's performance at the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino can ill afford to have a squad that is unprepared for the moment. Proper preparation, as we've seen countless times in the past, is paramount to these career-defining moments.

Preparation that Pochettino is consciously deciding to throw away.