The squad features the return of Pulisic, Tim Weah and Sergino Dest, but doesn't include McKennie, Yunas Musah or Matt Turner
Mauricio Pochettino was asked about the future.
After announcing the USMNT's September squad on Tuesday, the manager fielded questions from reporters. Does he already have the spine of a squad in his head for October and November?
"Yes," the USMNT manager answered bluntly, before explaining the planning process. In his head, he has most of this mapped out. There are 60 to 65 players in his database right now. That number will start to shrink after this month. Which means that September is one last chance to give players a look, for those on the outside to show why they should be in.
As a result, U.S. Soccer unveiled a squad for upcoming friendlies against South Korea and Japan that, in many ways, came with more questions than answers - just 10 months ahead from the 2026 World Cup.
"Now is the time to have different players because we are not going to have the time to be together too much, or train too much," Pochettino said. "We're here to prepare for two games and play. We'll see how they really deal with this level of competition. Now is not the moment to build a group or to work in a different aspect that some people are focused on now.
"It's about focusing on making sure they know what they need to perform, and what they need to do to be our focus. After that, it's time for us to select the best players to play in the World Cup."
How did he choose who would and wouldn't be in camp, one that features the return of Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah and Sergino Dest but won't include the likes of Weston McKennie, Yunas Musah or Matt Turner?
GOAL takes a look at five key takeaways from the USMNT roster release.