Head coach Mauricio Pochettino and the U.S. men’s national team will call up a new defender, according to Vancouver Whitecaps FC’s Thomas Müller.
While Müller may still be playing and scored his first MLS goal on Saturday night in a 3–2 comeback win over St. Louis CITY SC, he also dipped his hand into the realm of breaking news post-match.
When speaking about the upcoming three-week break facing the Whitecaps, Müller revealed that center back Tristan Blackmon will be called up to the USMNT for the forthcoming friendlies, potentially setting him up to miss vital Whitecaps matches during the international windows.
“With the new [signings] coming in, they have a little bit more time. On the other hand, we’re playing during international break in October, we were missing some guys at this moment, and now Tristan is nominated for the U.S.,” Müller said, before laughing and realizing the news of Blackmon’s first callup had yet to be announced by the Whitecaps or U.S. Soccer.
“In the end, it is what it is. I heard what I heard. Congrats to Tristan and congrats to the U.S.”
The USMNT have upcoming friendlies in September against South Korea and Japan, and in October against Ecuador and Australia. However, Müller did not go as far as to clarify which roster Blackmon will be called up for.
Blackmon, 28, has spent parts of the last four seasons with Vancouver and has become a critical piece of the backline, helping to lead the team to three Canadian Championship titles and a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup Final this season.
Before his time with the Whitecaps, Blackmon won the 2022 MLS Cup with LAFC, where he began his professional career after a collegiate soccer career at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif.
Through his MLS career, he has played 171 regular season matches and scored seven goals and seven assists. This season, he has helped the Whitecaps to a league-high 12 clean sheets in the regular season and an extended run in cup competitions.
Thomas Müller: Der Newsbreaker
— Canadian Soccer Daily (@CANSoccerDaily) August 24, 2025
Jesse Marsch had been talking with Vancouver Whitecaps CB Tristan Blackmon about potentially playing for #CanMNT.
The U.S. didn’t like that.
Müller spilled the beans in his #VANvSTL avail that Blackmon has been called up by the #USMNT pic.twitter.com/BjDOtLQumU
Despite his standout moments, he has never cracked a final USMNT squad, with his only previous call being the 60-man preliminary roster for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup, which featured an MLS-heavy list, but not Blackmon.
Earlier in the season, ESPN reported that Canadian men’s national team head coach Jesse Marsch had a conversation with Blackmon about potentially representing Canada and gaining his citizenship. However, that possibility would fall short should the USMNT cap Blackmon.
“Just a conversation,” Blackmon said of his chat with Marsch. “Getting to know one another, nothing concrete. Getting to know me as a player, and that there’s a potential opportunity for this to possibly take place in the future. I can’t see in the future, I don’t have a crystal ball, nobody does. We’ll see what happens.”
Müller might not be in the business of breaking stories just yet, but he has his first big scoop.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as ‘Congrats to the U.S.’—Thomas Muller Accidentally Reveals New USMNT Defender .
