Mauricio Pochettino confirmed he is more than willing to call up MLS players to the USMNT as long as they prove their quality on the pitch.
In the past, the U.S. men's national team mostly featured the best American players from Major League Soccer, including Landon Donavan and Clint Dempsey. As homegrown talent began thriving overseas, USMNT squads began to overlook the MLS's top stars in favor of the players competing across Europe. In fact, not a single MLS player logged any minutes under Gregg Berhalter at Copa América 2024.
Pochettino is now at the helm of the Stars and Stripes, though, and made it clear he wants the best players available representing the United States, no matter what league they play in.
"For me I am going to be happy to have most of them playing here in the MLS because I think after [getting] to know the MLS, it is not easy to play here. It's very physical," Pochettino said in a press conference ahead of the USMNT's second leg clash with Jamaica in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals.
