Mauricio Pochettino pushes back on ‘bulls–t’ narrative around USMNT World Cup snubs

Mauricio Pochettino fired back at those who have criticized him for notifying players who did not make the 2026 U.S. World Cup roster through an email.

Members who were on the United States’ 55-man provisional roster were notified by email whether they had made the final cut on Friday via email, with some hitting out at the USMNT boss for being cold in how the devastating news was delivered. 

Pochettino defended his decision following a roster reveal event at Pier 17 in Manhattan on Tuesday by harkening back to his playing days when he missed out on playing for the Argentina national team. 

USA head coach Mauricio Pochettino observing his players during a CONCACAF Nations League game between Canada and USMNT at SoFi Stadium at on March 23, 2025 in Inglewood, Calif. Getty Images

“I was a player. When I didn’t make the roster, I didn’t want my coach to call me,” he said. “[As] coach of the national team, [they’d] say, ‘Which is the reason that I am not in the roster?’ What [am] I going to say? I’m going to lie? ‘You are not in the roster because I believe that another teammate is, today, in that period, is a better option.’ 

“I don’t say that he’s a better player and you cannot make the roster in the future. That is why I don’t really believe — if I communicate, because how we work, 55 players in the provisional roster. I need to call now the rest of players, but I should call in March, I should call in January camp. I think that is not the way. Come on.”

The USMNT boss continued the lengthy response by adding that the reason “doesn’t mean we don’t care.” 

“Because we care a lot, we don’t want to say nothing to confuse the players,” he added, before comparing the feeling to being fired by Tottenham. 

“I understand the player, they didn’t make the roster, they didn’t want to hear me, to say, ‘Oh [I] apologize. I care.’ Do you know why I care? Because during two weeks, I didn’t sleep, and today, I still cannot enjoy the 26 guys that are in front of me because I am thinking about the players that are out. That is about [caring]. It’s not to call because if I call, it’s about myself. I say, I call. I am very human and give an explanation. Come on. That is bulls–t.”

Like many things about the U.S. men’s national team heading into the World Cup, the situation has created plenty of opinions among American soccer fans and even those who have donned the red, white and blue in soccer’s biggest event. 

Former USMNT and current pundit Herculez Gomez lambasted Pochettino on social media and during an episode of “Fútbol Americas” on ESPN+ that aired on Monday. 

“When I read that they were informed that they weren’t going via email, this may just be a stop for Mauricio Pochettino, and that’s maybe the way he’s treating it,” said Gomez, who was part of the 2010 U.S. World Cup squad. “To these players, you’re ending a dream. You’re ending something they’ve been working for their whole life with an email and they deserve more than that.” 

Others were not as broken up about the way it was handled. 

USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino speaks during the announcement of the 2026 World Cup roster in New York, on May 26, 2026. AFP via Getty Images

Fox soccer analyst and former USMNT player Alexi Lalas backed Pochettino’s handling while seeming to take a shot at players he felt needed to be cuddled after the news. 

“Yup, this isn’t AYSO [American Youth Soccer Organization]. Besides, it will never be enough,” he wrote on X. “It’s horrible news and players will always find something wrong with how the news was delivered,” Lalas wrote in a social media post. “He didn’t call me…he didn’t FaceTime me…he didn’t do it face to face…he didn’t cuddle me and let me cry…etc, etc, etc.”