Pochettino Defends Bold Move as USMNT Summons Eight Teenagers: 'This Is No Experiment'

The era of experienced veterans may be coming to an end. That notion perhaps took hold when teenage sensations like 19-year-old Lamine Yamal and Pau Cubarsí guided Spain to international glory this past summer.

It's a philosophy that has since taken firm root in the thinking of U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino, whose youngest player at the World Cup was 21-year-old Alex Freeman.

He unveiled his squad on Thursday for the upcoming extended fall international window, and of the 28 players named, only 13 had actually appeared in his World Cup team just months prior, with notable omissions including U.S. Soccer figurehead Christian Pulisic, 27, and key midfielder Weston McKennie, 28. None of those 13 are older than 29, and they carry an average age of just 25.4 years old.

Even more strikingly, the coach named 13 uncapped players, 11 of whom are 20 years old or younger. Eight of them are still teenagers. The average age across the entire roster sits at just 22.8 years old—more than four years below that of his World Cup squad.

Pochettino was keen to stress that this youthful approach is no temporary measure. This is not a one-time experiment or some casual trial run. He fully expects these young players to step up and demonstrate they belong at this level. A new chapter has begun.

"It's a completely different approach than it was in the past," Pochettino said following his roster announcement. "The World Cup is in four years. We need to work with different objectives and goals, and for different reasons, that roster is the best roster that we can design for this camp.

"From now, if these guys are here and perform in the way that we expect, they are going to have the opportunity to keep playing," he added. "If you see Lamine Yamal, Spain won the World Cup with an 18-year-old ... You say, 'No, he's too young. He needs more experience.' Why? He is the best.

"If we have some players that are the same age—16, 17, 18, 19 [years old]—and are good, and we are performing and performing well. Then why? It is about opportunity. Give the opportunity and take the opportunity ... That is the mentality we want to build in this process in these four years."

Pochettino: A Change Is in Order

It's all about opportunity—about not dismissing anyone due to their age or limited experience. At the same time, it's not about handing someone a spot simply because they've accumulated years and a lengthy résumé.

"I think it's important to act and to give the possibility, the opportunity for them to show their quality and start to build their career for the next generation of this country," Pochettino said.

"Everyone says, 'Oh, that name needs to be here because in the past, their performance could also go like this,'" he later added. "No, no, now it's a fresh start. It's a new start. Of course, all [players] have the door open, but now it's not what [he] did in the past. [There is] no 'I am [Folarin] Balogun and score lots of goals. No 'I am Malik Tillman and was one of the best in the World Cup.'

"Now it's about today. Football is about today. Soccer is about today, and that is the way we want to build the process and this cycle."

So who stands to gain the most?

Major Win for Teenage Phenoms

Pulisic is certainly not among the beneficiaries. Despite his elevated profile within U.S. Soccer, he failed to earn a place in Pochettino's squad because right now, "Captain America" is not delivering. He has been frustratingly inconsistent and hampered by injuries for more than a year, and he was an unused substitute in AC Milan's opening three matches of the new season.

By contrast, his club teammate and fellow American Yunus Musah, who had previously been left out by Pochettino, has worked his way back into contention, earning a call-up for the fall window for the first time in over a year. The reason is simple: right now, the 23-year-old is excelling as a creative presence in Ruben Amorim's midfield.

The teenagers Pochettino has summoned are clearly the biggest winners, though. The fact that many of them aren't yet old enough to cast a ballot in the U.S. is little more than a footnote to Pochettino.

Sixteen-year-old Cavan Sullivan is a particularly exciting inclusion, and not solely because of his impressive performances for the Philadelphia Union in MLS this summer. Should he earn his debut, he would become one of the youngest players ever capped for the USMNT, just a few months older than Freddy Adu was when he made history as the youngest debutant (16 years, 234 days old) back in 2006.

"He deserves all the praise he's getting because he's performing well, he's playing well, he's giving assists, scoring goals, and he's 16," Pochettino said about Sullivan. " ... It's exciting to have him, like other new players, in this roster to try to be sure that they can express their potential, their real potential."

Pochettino is set on turning the USMNT into a world-class force by the time the 2030 World Cup comes around, and he is committed to ensuring every promising young talent gets their chance to shine along the way.

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