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For virtually every soccer player, competing in the World Cup represents the ultimate dream, particularly when the tournament takes place on home turf.
On Tuesday, 26 young men discovered their destiny as the latest World Cup-bound players selected to represent the U.S. men's national team on soccer's biggest stage. Yet, for 29 others, the news brought a devastating sense of missed opportunity.
USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino was required to submit a 55-man preliminary roster to FIFA in early May, identifying which players could earn a spot on his final World Cup squad, as revealed in New York City this week. However, he reportedly never spoke directly with any of the players who failed to make the final cut. Instead, he notified them via email.
This approach isn't far removed from his previous communication habits—or absence thereof—with U.S. players. He previously acknowledged that he does not engage with players outside of national team camps, a sharp contrast to many international coaches, including manager Jesse Marsch, who described himself as an "agent" and mentor to his Canadian men's national team players.
For those World Cup hopefuls who fell short of the final roster, the emotion is pure devastation. For those who secured a place, it is sheer relief. Those emotions contributed to the roster leaking three days before the official announcement, as players quickly shared the news with family members, friends, and agents, among others.
"We got the email at the same time, so I talked to him," 19-year-old Real Salt Lake standout Zavier Gozo told The Guardian about how he and teammate Diego Luna processed their omissions. "I honestly think he should be on the team. I was upset for him, and obviously he's upset as well. So I think he's the same way. I think he's just gonna keep working hard."
Pochettino Avoids Confrontation, Conflict
Despite 54-year-old Pochettino belonging to a generation more accustomed to phone calls than the Gen Z and Millennial players he manages, it has become clear that he tends to shy away from direct confrontation.
More often than not, this has meant channeling his views through the media rather than engaging in direct conversations with his own players—as illustrated by a turbulent summer without Christian Pulisic in 2025—and now, delivering his final World Cup cuts via email.
"Nothing to talk about," Pochettino said when questioned about whether he had spoken with Pulisic, before the star forward withdrew from the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Yet, that didn't prevent either party from making public statements about the matter.
"The most important thing is that we explained why we decided not to include [Pulisic]," Pochettino added in an interview. "If you have some problems, no, that is not my problem to understand. I am the head coach, I am not a mannequin."
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Much of it is well-meaning. Unlike certain other national teams, Pochettino chose not to call up more than 26 players for the pre-World Cup friendlies, hoping to avoid stirring up frustration and additional heartbreak through last-minute cuts.
In the past, Landon Donovan admitted to breaking down in tears after Jürgen Klinsmann dropped him from the final squad for Brazil in 2014, and Jeff Agoos famously burned his kit when he was cut by Bora Milutinović in 1994, the last time the U.S. hosted the World Cup.
Pochettino sidestepped those scenarios, but for some players, it meant receiving one of the most gut-wrenching phone notifications, with their summer plans sealed by an email.