Christian Pulisic is out and 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan is in. Mauricio Pochettino named 13 newcomers on Thursday for the first roster of his second stint as U.S. coach, leaving out the team's biggest star while calling up a forward who could become the youngest American national team player in two decades.
"It's a completely different approach than it was in the past," Pochettino said from New York during an online news conference. "The World Cup is in four years. We need to work with different objectives and goals."
The 28 players selected will report for friendlies against Peru on Sept. 26 in Orlando, Florida, Chile on Sept. 29 in St. Louis, Mexico on Oct. 3 in Glendale, Arizona, and Canada on Oct. 6 in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Why Pulisic Is Missing
Pulisic, a two-time World Cup veteran who turns 28 on Friday, failed to score during last summer's tournament. He missed one of the Americans' five matches with a calf injury and left two others early, including the 4-1 round-of-16 loss to Belgium, when he came off in the second half because of a microfracture of his right tibia and fibula. He didn't make his season debut for AC Milan until last weekend.
Pochettino offered no explanation for the omission. "It's not a point that now the first camp of this new cycle I start to explain why it's one, why it is not another," he said.
Midfielder Yunus Musah, a 2022 World Cup veteran who hasn't played for the Americans since March 2025, was included in the squad.
Sullivan Chasing History
Sullivan made his Major League Soccer debut at 14 with Philadelphia in July 2024 and has scored six league goals this season. He is set to transfer to Manchester City when he turns 18.
"He deserved all the praise that he's getting I think because he's performing well, he's playing well, he's giving assists and scoring goals," Pochettino said. "He is special because he is 16 years old playing in this level in MLS."
Sullivan will be two days shy of his 17th birthday when the Americans face Peru and could become the youngest U.S. national team player since Freddy Adu debuted at 16 years, 234 days against Canada on Jan. 22, 2006. Sullivan was in the stands for the World Cup loss to Belgium in Seattle. "Thinking of that Belgium game, I think I could come into that game on the right side and make a difference," he said earlier this month on Alexi Lalas' State of the Union podcast.
A Youth Movement
Twelve other newcomers round out the list of possible debutants: 17-year-old midfielders Adri Mehmeti and Mathis Albert; 18-year-old defenders Peyton Miller and Neil Pierre; 18-year-old forward Julian Hall; 19-year-old midfielder Zavier Gozo; 19-year-old forward Justin Ellis; 20-year-old goalkeeper Diego Kochen; 20-year-old right back Frankie Westfield; 20-year-old midfielders Cole Campbell and Brooklyn Raines; and 25-year-old goalkeeper Brian Schwake.
"This for me is a great opportunity to meet these guys, to see them, to analyze, to see the things to improve in the way that they can evolve," Pochettino said. "They need to make the mistake, but we need to be there to try to fix that."
Gozo, for his part, has already spoken with confidence about missing out on the World Cup, telling "The Late Run" podcast last month, "I do think I deserved to be there."
Twelve players in the squad come from Major League Soccer. Two players have just one previous international appearance each: 22-year-old goalkeeper Chris Brady and 25-year-old defender George Campbell.
Only 13 Survivors From the World Cup Squad
Just 13 players return from the 26-man World Cup roster: goalkeepers Matt Freese and Brady; defenders Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson and Auston Trusty; midfielders Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Gio Reyna and Malik Tillman; and forward Ricardo Pepi.
Folarin Balogun, who hasn't played for Monaco this season after a possible move to Everton fell through, also missed out. Pochettino cited what he described as a minor leg injury.
Others dropped from the World Cup roster include goalkeeper Matt Turner; defenders Max Arfsten, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream and Joe Scally; midfielders Weston McKennie and Cristian Roldan; and forwards Brenden Aaronson, Tim Weah, Haji Wright and Alejandro Zendejas.
"Now it's not what I did in the past," Pochettino said. "Now is about today. Football is about today, soccer is about today."
