USMNT Preview: Pulisic’s return, McKennie & Musah missing, Pochettino's message.

0:00It's Rog, here to sing my praise for a very special New Balance football boot, the 442. It's no-nonsense, workhorse midfielders and defenders, the ones who do the dirty work, but also ping a pass to perfection. It's a classic boot design with modern enhancements, with an ultra-lightweight sole, synthetic microfibre material, retains a soft premium in-hand feel, allowing for the lighter weight, the superior touch on the ball. Get a pair for yourself or the footballer in your family at newbalance.com slash soccer. We are delighted to bring you the Men in Blazers City Guides presented by Visa, a joyously assembled guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore and watch the beautiful game across the country.

0:43It's a guide in helping fans experience the city as a local. It's built by you, our listeners, recommending some of the best small businesses in your communities, like the finest Viet Cajun in Houston. Yes. The best burrito in San Francisco. Yes. Where to savour lemon pepper wet in Atlanta. Yes, yes, yes. A massive shout out to our sponsor Visa, who's made this guide possible. Visa gives local business owners the tools and support to be ready for moments exactly like this one, welcoming you to enjoy the games this summer. Start planning your journey at meninblazers.com backslash cityguides. You're listening to the Men in Blazers Media Network.

1:28Suboptimal Radio.

1:37The US Men's National Team World Cup squad was one of those cooking challenge reality shows. I think it would feel a little bit like the clock's running out. We've still very much got all the individual ingredients all over the prep table. Not quite sure how we're going to combine them into the winning recipe, but we will. Despite the fact the opponent's lying ahead of a stiff challenge, they are truth. lose. It's going to feel very, very dark. Win one of these two games ahead. Get Pulisic firing. We're going to feel a whole lot better about life. So two very different scenarios lie ahead. We are going to break 10 things down the US can do in this window to make us all believe.

2:14To break down all you need to know, it's a joy to welcome back my friend, former US international ESPN broadcaster and host of the quite magical VAMOS on the Men in Blazers media network right here. It's Big Hurt Gomez. Raj, what's going on, my man? I'm excited to be here with you. Let me ask you the big question. We're sifting through the options, Mauricio Pochettino style. Let me ask you the big one. Everyone in football is wondering which side is Son Hung Min going to play on? He's ours now, right? He's definitely ours. At least in the city of Los Angeles, according to the councilwoman, we've restructured the district and he's one of us.

2:48I think Poch knows how to use him. It's the good thing. Let South Korea borrow him for the first half of this game's second half. It's all ours in the time that matters. But let's dive in. We've got a lot to talk about. First and the last, four international windows before World Cup warm-ups. South Korea and Japan loom, number 23. And is it number 17 in the world? Two truly stiff challenges. I spoke to Tyler Adams today. We really talked about these teams. And we also said, fear not, we've got a Klinsman and a Berhalter in the squad. What year is this again, Herc? Make no mistake, enormous window.

3:25Are U.S. work in progress, work in process, search of culture, chemistry, and confidence? Does that kind of sum up big picture where we are? I don't know what to expect anymore, Rog. I think that's where we've gone with the U.S. men's national team. Nobody really knows what to expect, and we're eight games out, four windows, and that's got to be the scary part, the uncertainty, because at this point, in any other point of a World Cup cycle or any other team around the world, you would have an idea of who your core is, who the 11 are. And the players you're bringing in are players you're not sure of that could be part of the fringe, you know, player 18, 19, 20, and so on.

4:04You shouldn't be asking questions about the starting goalkeeper. You shouldn't be asking questions about CB2. You shouldn't be asking questions about who's alongside Tyler Adams. We shouldn't be asking questions of who's the nine going to be. And yet here we are, four windows out asking those questions. So let's do it. Let's break it down and start point for point with poch point number one, Christian Pulisic back for the first time since the Nations League disaster in March. He's got a goal in his first two games for Milan this season already, but he spent the summer really playing his best football in commercials, sparring with Landon Donovan and sitting out the Gold Cup.

4:42I'm not interested in talking about any of that because I do want to talk about that now. Christian is back. And knowing Christian, he's probably going to be highly motivated. That man will take the field, I'd say desperate to score. He knows as well as anybody that one electric moment of football can just change everything in the blink of an eye. That's how it works. But the first thing I want to ask you is this. You've been an international squad. You know how cultures work, locker rooms. Pochettino talked in his press conference. He admitted he had not talked to Christian Pulisic before the camp.

5:13But he said the public back and forth between the two is, quote, behind us. Herc, I've got to be candid. I said this at the time, I was surprised that Poch did not hop on an early plane to Milan, do a photo shoot with the two of them together, create those good vibe optics, show that the conflict was behind us. But this is how it works in football, that there is no need to talk about things. We do just get on water under the bridge. Football culture is a little bit like real life where things linger under the surface. Sometimes. And I was on Football Americas on ESPN and I had the pleasure of interviewing Giovanni Reina and Joe Scali.

5:55And I asked them about the communication with the U.S. men's national team, you know, coaching crew. Were you notified? Were you communicated about this camp? They both looked at each other and it was a simple no. Sometimes, majority times I should say, you don't receive word. There are players, some of us mere mortals, who don't get confirmation, who don't get an explanation. And then there are those who fall into another category. Like in any realm of any job or any part of the world, the hierarchy comes into play. Christian Pulisic would be one of those players. Christian Pulisic, because of his stature with the U.S.

6:28Men's Nationals, his stature in U.S. soccer, the face of U.S. soccer. And Mauricio Pochettino, the captain right now of this ship, there needs to be a talk. It's the obvious elephant in the room. And I would be very surprised, Raj, if it is not addressed. And it should be addressed by Mauricio Pochettino. You and I know Christian's personality. I don't think Christian Pulisic is going to be the guy to go out of his way to speak to Mauricio Pochettino about what happened. He's very much an introvert. It doesn't seem like his personality. But Mauricio Pochettino, if he wants to establish a culture, he needs Christian Pulisic to buy in.

7:04He needs Christian Pulisic to lead the group in that culture. So there needs to be a talk. It's behind us. I don't buy that. There needs to be a coming of the minds. There needs to be at least two adults in the room to get these people together and move forward for the better of U.S. men's national team. We have seen Christian Pulisic single-handedly lift this team to some of its highest heights in the post-2017 era. We've also seen him a distinctly frustrated figure with those around him when the team struggles. So he's going to be motivated this first game. If he can get in sync with Sargent, we'll talk about him in a moment, with Tim Weyer, with the others around him, it could be magic.

7:44A goal in that first game and life is going to feel great. but zero contributions in two games. And it's going to feel a whole lot different. And I think Christian Pulisic knows that. And I think U.S. Men's National Team fans know that. But there are no good moments, moments of positivity, even in despair, that don't have Christian Pulisic in the U.S. Men's National Team's recent history with Christian Pulisic. The U.S. Men's National Team lose in Trinidad and Tobago, get eliminated from World Cup contention, and it's a teenager who's the hope. It's Christian Pulisic who scores the goal. It's Christian Pulisic, who's in tears, that gives you some hope.

8:20And I believe gave the federation hope of the generation that was Pulisic's and what they could do. And forced all the veterans out and handed these kids caps. Christian Pulisic in the multiple nations leagues. The finals versus Mexico versus Canada. He's there. Big moments, big goals in final. The Dos Aceros in Cincinnati. The big moments is Christian Pulisic in the World Cup playing against England. Shown his magic. It's Christian Pulisic. Sharing his what? Sharing his ability to testicle the ball in for his nation. Scoring with his p*** against Iran. It's Christian Pulisic putting his manhood on the line.

8:58So I think U.S. Men's National Team fans are as upset as they could be with Christian Pulisic about how this summer went. And trust me, Christian Pulisic shares his own blame. There's plenty of blame to go around. They're not naive enough to believe that something good can happen this summer in the World Cup on home soil without Christian Pulisic. And I really hope Marisa Pochettino understands this as well, Rog. Christian, Godspeed to you, man, because you are right. We need that Christian Pulisic. And God, I hope we see it in the next two games. Potch point number two, who's not here is, and you've already mentioned one of Gio Reyna, still waiting to make his debut in his new club, Borussia Mönchengladbach.

9:40I hate for Gio. I thought his appearance on your show was incredible. He was immensely honest. What was his cry? I can't be too surprised. Obviously, I haven't played any games with my club yet this season. I can't obviously be mad about it. Last season, he got just 627 minutes scattered across 26 games. But it's not just him. No Johnny, no Tanner Tessman, Aidan Morris of Middlesbrough. The free-scoring Hadji Wright, Pepe, just back from injury. Anthony Robinson also working his way back from injury. But there's two I do want to dive into to get your take back before circling back to the big picture.

10:16We wondered after this summer in which Poch, in a way when scorched earth on this squad, tried to reset the culture by bringing in a ton of young US players, MLS players. We wondered which of the big players would be punished and would not be brought in the next window. So there's two I want to talk about here. There's no Weston McKinney. We'll talk about him in a moment. And there's no Younes Moussa. Younes turned down a chance to play Gold Cup. I get back to him. But Weston, not selected here. Poch, in his press conference, was somewhat cryptic when asked if he'd already had in mind the players who'd returned in October's window.

10:57Not this window, but in October, he nodded his head and said yes, which is widely taken as hinting that McKinney will be back. So this is almost like a one window pause. Speaking to people around the team, Potch has not been thrilled with the McKinney work ethic in training. It feels a little bit like a warning to him, not just to him. All the other big names at the places they once thought was theirs, no matter what, by right and not givens. Complacency will not be tolerated is kind of the message I read into this. But let me ask you this. What other national team leaves their best players off rosters for camps from a World Cup?

11:34Because, and this is also Mauricio Pochettino's words, we know that player already, Weston McKinney. There aren't any other national teams. The closest national team I could think of would be the Mexican national team with a very limited pool in Qatar who left out the likes of Asante Jimenez who was doing well because the coach wasn't convinced. And all that downfall that came out of it, Mexico, this World Cup, will not have a single player under 25 years of age with World Cup experience. So it shows you how badly handled that was. I respect Mauricio Pochettino trying to install a culture. If he feels Weston McKinney's work ethic isn't up to par, I respect him doing something about it.

12:14Maybe that's a message. Maybe. But a bigger message to me is bringing him in and telling him to his face how he's letting the team down. Telling him to his face how he's letting himself down. I would do that. I don't know if there's been a conversation and then he was left out. But if I'm Arisa Pochettino, I have to understand. I want to understand from the outside looking in that he understands how limited of a time he has with these players. So as upset as he is with Weston McKinney, if he really feels he can help him in the summer, if he really feels Weston McKinney can help the U.S. men's national team and Marisa Pochettino in the summer, I don't know a coach that goes against his own interest.

12:56You bring him in, you ream into him, you set him straight, but he's still there. He's working. You're Tim ream into him is what you do, baby, in America. Let's quickly, because I want to talk about who is here. I want to revel in that rather than kind of agonize who's not. But we do have to quickly talk about Younis Moussa. So bloody young, arrived with so much possibility, had lost his way, both country and club to some degree, just moved from Milan to Atalanta, a fresh start. He didn't report to Gold Cup camp when asked. He's reported to have turned down the invitation when it was offered. Herc, if I was a betting man, I would say Yunus Moussa will not play under Mauricio Pochettino.

13:40And again, in effect, he'll be almost the fall guy, the warning shot reminder for the exasperation of the last window, almost the scapegoat. I don't know about scapegoat because of the type of player that Yunus Moussa is. Bear with me here, Raj. Some coaches, some systems consider these players luxury pieces. They want more effect, more in-product. So if you're asking Yunus Moussa in the offensive third of providing an assist or scoring a goal with Yunus, it's not going to happen. Look at the numbers. When you don't have that in-product and you tell a coach, nah I'm good here I need to rest I can only imagine if that coach feels you're a luxury piece what his reaction will be so scapegoat or not for many fans he may be the face of that and I agree with you that could be a case here but I think it's Marisa Pochettino saying I don't even know if I was going to use you when I used you I put you on the right and then Marisa Pochettino actually scored a goal but he was experimenting with younus musa it wasn't a guy set in stone in the midfield so i feel for younus musa because he seems like an absolutely just gem of a person sweetest kid yeah but that's a risk you take when a coach doesn't know you that's a risk you take when you're not around to win your spot and maybe he got too comfortable with what he thought he had on the u.s men's national team don't it always seem to know that you don't know what you've got till it's gone.

15:14Parch point number three, the green shoots of this squad in this moment. 14, I think, at the 24 from MLS when Christian Woldan was called up this morning. I'm not going to lie, some are difficult to understand. If I were Aidan Morris, I would be really quite agonised. Aidan Morris, he's picked up two Man of the Match awards in his first four games of the season for top of the table championship side Middlesbrough. I've watched him once. He dictated play in midfield. Looked terrific, controlling the game at times. I think if I were him, I'd look at the squad and wonder what more I could have been done.

15:52I don't know if players do this, whether they work out why was he chosen over me. Sean Zavatsky of Columbus, a newcomer to the squad. Sebastian Berhalter of Vancouver. Potcher said this is the last camp to introduce new players to, which is, you know, that's kind of drawing a line. And then he said this, which has been much talked about. He said, the MLS, in my assessment, is maybe more competitive than some leagues in Europe. And I've got to say, Herc, I found that a very odd thing to say. I'm not interested in the stay or go debate. I think it's very done. It's impossible to debate, seriously.

16:28The world ethos is the best players go and shop and their skills in the best leagues in the world. That's not a debate. We're not having that. But I'm trying to look at why Potch would try and make such a vague point. What he's trying to convey there. because there's over 40 member leagues in Europe. Is MLS better than the Latvian Higher League? I had to look that one up. Is it better than the Slovenian League? Yeah. But what does that prove? And why would he say that? What are we comparing it to? And what does competitive mean? Top to bottom, that the 30th team could beat the first place team?

16:57Okay. Does it mean that it's better than the championship? I don't know. The championship is probably a top 10 league in the world. So where are we going with that? Do you think it's better than Russia? Do you think it's better than Turkey? Do you think it's better than Belgium, the Eredivisie? I asked Joe Scali the same thing, and Joe Scali didn't want to go into the debate either, but he said, I think the big difference is when you play in some of these very competitive leagues, you can play against a player who's worth$100 million. You're not going to play against a player who's worth$100 million in Major League Soccer.

17:28So it's a very vague statement to make. And one that I find trouble with because I think the underlining message is it's okay to be in your comfort zone. It's okay to stay around your friends and family and play in your domestic league and never test yourself if you're able to test yourself. That to me is the wrong message. I agree with you. Iron sharpens iron. The best iron in the world is in Europe. It's playing the Champions League. It's in the top five leagues. It's learning to sink or swim, fighting for your position every single day. And I worry that the messaging is that doesn't matter.

18:08It's okay to be here. And being in major league soccer is absolutely fine. If that's your level, there's no problem with that. There's no dishonor in working and trying to fight for your place, wherever that place may be. But if you're settling, if you're going down, bringing down that level, if you don't want to test yourself because the message is, this is just as good, that's where I have and that's where I take issue with. I adore MLS. I think the league is growing so bloody fast, so bloody fast. I look at things. Wilford Nancy in Columbus. I watched Seattle what they did into Miami last weekend with true marvel.

18:47The team, the tactics, unbelievable. The fan base, utterly, utterly delirious.

18:57We are delighted to bring you the Men in Blazers City Guides presented by Visa, a joyously assembled guide to the best places to eat, drink and explore and watch the beautiful game across the country. It's a guide aimed at helping fans experience the city as a local. It's built by you, our listeners, recommending some of the best small businesses in your communities. Like the finest Viet Cajun in Houston. Yes. The best burrito in San Francisco. Yes. Where to save a lemon pepper wet in Atlanta. Yes, yes, yes. A massive shout out to our sponsor Visa, who's made this guide possible. Visa gives local business owners the tools and support to be ready for moments exactly like this one.

19:42Welcoming you to enjoy the games this summer. Start planning your journey at meninblazers.com backslash cityguides. We had a data analyst, Dean Graham, on the show last week. He's an amazing friend of this year. And it's really worth listening to. One of the things he talked about was how every single league around the world has a data-wise, has what you call the discount rate for goals. So say when Arsenal were trying to work out, you know, Victor Jochores scored a truck full of goals in Portugal. He said, as an analyst, when you're trying to work out what you'll score in the Premier League, you discount the number of goals you scored in the Portuguese League by 35%.

20:23And I asked him, I said, what's the MLS discount rate here? And he said 50%. So this is where we are. And it makes me wonder, with this squad, this squad is so MLS heavy, almost to a point, the Aidan Morris thing. And I keep thinking back to Poch's statement, I am not a mannequin, at his low point at the beginning of the summer. We know, Mauricio Pochettino is a culture builder. We know he's trying to build a culture for the squad. As he did at Tottenham Hotspur, he wants young players. who would listen to him, who have no choice but to do what he says. He's almost exercising the complacency that rotted away the late Berhalter period.

21:09To me, that's almost the allure of MLS players. This is a culture-creating camp. Everyone has to fit into this culture. Potts is in control of them. In a way, he's not, say, with Christian Pulisic or Western McKinney. I mean, this is almost the mannequin strikes back squad, Herc. I have no idea what it is, Raj, because I listened to the way he communicates with the press, domestic and foreign. Just this morning, he was on El Cafilito, which is a segment of a Spanish show called Chiringuito with Joseph Pedregol. And he was talking about the difference between soccer and football. And he said, soccer, they play for fun.

21:49And they want to win, but they do because it's fun. Football, you compete. and he says this in spanish and i've noticed a trend when with domestic reporters in the united states asking him questions in spanish because he's much more direct and much more blunt and he gets out what he wants to say it's much more clear to say americans don't compete is an indictment not of this culture but of these players so we could sit here and say he wants to build a culture i'm more worried about how he views the players that he has to build that culture with. This isn't a club team. This is a national team.

22:29He's going to have these players a week at a time, maybe 10 days if he's lucky. 30 days before the World Cup, he'll have them for that amount of time. You're not going to build a culture like you do a club team. When he was at Spurs, Southampton, Espanol, you had years to build a culture. You had money to go out and get players that fit your system. You can't do that here. Very difficult to unearth players. What you got is what you got. And I think that's what fans have the biggest issue with, Raj, is, oh, I know what this is. Oh, I know what that is. Why are we, we've seen years of doing this.

23:07And there are players who have built that equity within the program who are now discarded. And I am not going to sit here and you are not either and we're not going to entertain the MLS quota. That's that, no. But is there an influence? Well, I could maybe see that because now he spent time with these players and he says, well, mentally some of these players have showed me day in, day out that they can do this. And I don't think there's that big of a difference between these players in Europe who think they're good. So I could see him evaluating that way. but I could also see why fans fall into the trap of what's going on here why so many MLS players it can't be that with Greg Berhalter who is a massive believer of major league soccer who's employed by major league soccer today had a world cup team and starting 11 of all European players and Nations League teams of 23, there were 22 European players, only one MLS player.

24:10And now we're going to the fault like, there's a quota here. No, it's just, it's the selection and it's independent selection by the coach who's failing to understand the competitive nature of his players. That's what it is. That is so true in our Discord. The at Train Pepe wrote, It is hilarious that the highest paid, most successful coach ever appointed, US manager, has a love affair with MLS players. Godspeed to all. OK, Poch point number four. On number nine, who's going to be America's next top striker? I feel like we ask this all the bloody time, have done since 2017. Flo Balligan back with the squad first time under Mauricio Pochicino.

24:51Welcome back. It's incredible to see you. Damien Downs, double D, now at Southampton, getting a callback from the summer. And Josh Sargent left out over the summer. He's almost goal-scored his way back into our loving arms. Balogun, 24, man has suffered. Ankle injury, shoulder injury, kept him from playing, not undercap since September 2024. Scored twice at the Copa America. That's the ballo of our dreams. There's the ballo of the reality too. yet to really gel under the Berhalter system. Can he under Poch? But I need to ask you about Josh Sargent. Still just 25, feels so much bloody older. Mostly because he's been, you know, in our sights since he was 17 years of age.

25:33Felt like Poch had dismissed him from the project. But he's been unstoppable this season, captaining Norwich in the championship. Is it six goals in five league games? Gent's had a share of injuries too. You know, been in and out in that period of time. But I need to ask you, we marvel at Josh Sargent in the championship. We're in the Norwich jersey. How many years is it since he scored for the US? How does that happen? At a certain point, yes, it's tactical. We don't play to his strengths, you could argue. But does it become mental for a striker? It can become mental for a striker. And I can sit here and make excuses for Josh Sargent about, well, look at the amount of minutes he's played.