USMNT roster for 2025 Gold Cup: Pochettino to reveal USA men's squad for friendlies before CONCACAF tournament

With the European club campaign almost complete, the U.S. men's national team is gearing up for its last chance at competitive action before next year's enormous World Cup on home soil.

That means it's almost time for head coach Mauricio Pochettino to name his roster for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which the U.S. will host per usual, largely on the west coast of the nation this year to avoid conflicting with the Club World Cup.

Twenty-six players will be available for the USMNT to gun for a continental title, looking to unseat defending champions Mexico who triumphed in 2023 after the U.S. was beaten on penalties by Panama in the semifinals.

The Sporting News brings you a look at who could represent the United States and gain valuable minutes ahead of next summer's FIFA tournament also on home soil.

MORE: Full USMNT schedule for 2025 calendar year

USMNT roster for 2025 Gold Cup

CONCACAF allows a 26-man roster for the 2025 Gold Cup, which is a slight increase over the 23 players allowed on the Nations League squads.

In all likelihood, Pochettino will name a larger squad for the pre-tournament friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland before trimming the roster to the allowable 26 players before the competition begins.

Below is a predicted Gold Cup roster of 26 players, with the announcement expected on the morning of Thursday, May 22. The players have all been selected from the 60 who were named to the preliminary roster, and any individuals who are called in as injury replacements will also have to be from that list.

*Caps correct as of May 22

Pulisic, Musah, Carter-Vickers all rested for summer tournament

The evening before the Gold Cup roster announcement, a report from Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports revealed that superstar Christian Pulisic would be left off the Gold Cup roster along with his club teammate Yunus Musah, a shocking decision from Mauricio Pochettino.

The overwhelmingly likely reason for his absence was to rest him after a long club season, but it also drew significant criticism on two fronts. First, the lack of competitive minutes until the World Cup means the USMNT players have only a few opportunities to build chemistry and togetherness with their international teammates. Second, it continues the pervasive notion that USMNT players lack grit and toughness, a perceived narrative by the fanbase that, whether true or not, has been talked about going back beyond Pochettino's hire.

MORE: Pochettino's decision to leave Pulisic, others off Gold Cup roster is a needless risk

The central defensive position is a major headache for Pochettino, which is why it was equally surprising to see a report the day before the roster announcement that Celtic duo Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty were also left out of the squad, also likely to be rested. However, that report has since been deleted, with the individual apologizing for what sounds to have been an error.

The two are far from the only USMNT players to have endured a club campaign full of work, but their combined 7,000 minutes means they are good candidates to have the summer off while Pochettino gets a look at other center-back options.

Explaining absences of Gio Reyna, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi

Fans may notice that certain notable regulars have been left off the roster, and will be wondering why.

Many of these can be explained by their unavailability, either due to club commitments this summer or injury. That's the case for both Gio Reyna and Ricardo Pepi, with Reyna falling under the former category and Pepi the latter.

Reyna was left off even the 60-man preliminary list. This is likely due to his club Borussia Dortmund being involved in the Club World Cup this summer, and while Reyna is not necessarily a regular in the side, he could be involved, especially if Dortmund wish to give him minutes to prove himself worthy of a transfer away.

That's the case for Juventus duo Weston McKennie and Tim Weah as well, who are both set to participate in the Club World Cup with their Italian side, leaving them unavailable for selection.

When it comes to Pepi, the PSV striker was in exceptional goal-scoring form this season and seemed to have earned the USMNT starting striker role, but he was cruelly cut down by a serious knee injury a number of months ago. It's not clear when he will be back to action — if he will be ready to start next season with PSV or if he'll need more time — but he is a definite miss this summer for the national team.

Another injured USMNT veteran is Walker Zimmerman, who was included on the preliminary roster but has yet to return from a concussion suffered last month on club duty in MLS.