Christian Pulisic will return to the US men’s national team for the first time since his self-imposed absence from the team’s summer slate, having been named to the team’s roster for two friendlies against South Korea and Japan in the upcoming international window. However, in a surprise move, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie was not named among head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.
Pochettino named 22 players for the friendlies, with US Soccer adding that a 23rd player is expected to be rostered at a later time. The federation did not elaborate as to whether this player could be McKennie, a US regular who came on as a sub for Juventus over the weekend, or some other player.
The roster is also notable for a few other absences. Goalkeeper Matt Turner, who made an offseason loan move back to MLS in search of regular playing time, misses out, as will strikers Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, and Patrick Agyemang, midfielder Malik Tillman, and defender Antonee Robinson, all of whom are either injured or returning to action after time on the sideline. Yunus Musah, who missed out on the 2025 Gold Cup for personal reasons, was also not named in the squad.
Some players, though, will be celebrating a return. That includes Norwich City’s Josh Sargent, who has been on fire to start the season, scoring in all four matches he’s played in all competitions for the Canaries. Sergiño Dest also makes his return to the US team after recovering fully from last season’s ACL tear. Tim Weah is back in the fold as well after Club World Cup duties kept him from participating in the Gold Cup.
The squad is also notable for the holdovers from that Gold Cup squad: 12 in total, including goalkeeper Matt Freese, defenders Alex Freeman, Max Arfsten, and Nathan Harriel, midfielder Jack McGlynn, and striker Damion Downs.
There are also a couple of surprise inclusions: 18-year-old center back Noahkai Banks, the Hawaii-born German-American who made his Bundesliga debut earlier this year with Augsburg, and goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann, the son of former US head coach Jürgen Klinsmann.
The US play South Korea at Sports Illustrated Stadium in Harrison, New Jersey on 6 September at 5pm ET. They then travel to Columbus to take on Japan at Lower.com Field on 9 September at 7.30pm ET.
Here’s the full squad, with breakdowns for each position:
Goalkeepers:
Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena)
Klinsmann’s inclusion, and Turner’s exclusion, is one of the bigger surprises on the roster. Klinsmann may still be most notable to many US fans for his jab at Landon Donovan on social media after his exclusion from the 2014 World Cup squad – an incident that occurred when he was 17. He has struggled for regular playing time for most of his professional career but has found it in Serie B, where he’s been a starter for Cesena since midway through last season.
All in all, this competition is fairly open, though Freese should have the upper hand after starting for the US through the Gold Cup. Celentano will be looking for his first cap with the US, having only appeared in training camps before.
Defenders
Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Noahkai Banks (FC Augsburg), Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Nathan Harriel (Philadelphia Union), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace)
There are some regulars in this group one would think could easily start at the 2026 World Cup (Richards, Ream and Dest), but the rest are all players looking to secure a spot on next year’s roster. Tristan Blackmon, 29, has been rewarded after years of solid center-back play for the Vancouver Whitecaps. Banks is an intriguing prospect who has made appearances for the US youth teams. Arfsten will have the inside track to start at left back with Dest, Freeman and Harriel all being more natural on the right.
Midfielders:
Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)
Tyler Adams will lead this young group after doing the same at the Gold Cup over the summer, but the bigger news may be about who is not here. McKennie misses out, as does Milan’s Musah, Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson, and Atlético Madrid’s Johnny Cardoso, with the latter two having been on the 2025 Gold Cup roster. Sean Zawadzki returns to the team after being part of the team’s pre-Gold Cup camp.
Forwards:
Damion Downs (Southampton), Christian Pulisic (Milan) Josh Sargent (Norwich), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alex Zendejas (Club América)
Pulisic’s return is notable if only because of how his past absence kicked off a war of words through the media between him and USMNT pundits and past stars of the team. He’ll have a point to prove in this camp, where he’ll be joined by the red-hot Sargent and Weah, who moved from Juventus to Olympique Marseille over the summer. Southampton’s Damion Downs was a surprise inclusion on the 2025 Gold Cup roster and he returns here, with injuries impacting the availability of numerous other options as detailed above. Winger Alex Zendejas returns to the team for the first time in 2025 after impressing with Mexican giants Club América.
