USMNT Explain Christian Pulisic Absence From Gold Cup Roster | OneFootball

U.S. soccer sporting director Matt Crocker has revealed that Christian Pulisic requested to be omitted from Mauricio Pochettino’s national team squad ahead of this summer’s Gold Cup.

Reports surfaced shortly before the announcement was made revealing that Pulisic, the national team’s most experienced and recognizable player, would not be involved in the upcoming international tournament. Various outlets cited the forward’s grueling domestic campaign with AC Milan, which has seen the 26-year-old amass more than 3,500 minutes of action this season.

“Christian and his team approached the federation and the coaching staff about the possibility of stepping back this summer, given the amount of matches he has played in the past two years at both the club and international level with very little break,” Crocker revealed in a statement which accompanied Pochettino’s full roster.

“After thoughtful discussions and careful consideration, we made the collective decision that this is the right moment for him to get the rest he needs. The objective is to ensure he’s fully prepared to perform at the highest level next season.”

This focus will undoubtedly be on laying the foundations ahead of next summer’s World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. However, there is still the not-so-insignificant matter of the Gold Cup to navigate.

Christian Pulisic is AC Milan’s leading scorer this season. / IMAGO/Insidefoto

Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Dortmund), Timothy Weah and Weston McKennie (both Juventus) predictably joined Pulisic on the sidelines as the trio will be involved with their club sides at the FIFA Club World Cup, which starts on the same day as the Gold Cup (June 14).

Although, Pochettino did raise some eyebrows by leaving out Fulham’s Antonee Robinson—arguably the best left back in the Premier League this season—as well as Pulisic’s Milan teammate Yunus Musah.

The full 27-player training camp squad, which will be cut to at least 26 by June 4, can be found below:

Goalkeepers: Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)

Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), DeJuan Jones (San Jose Earthquakes), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati)

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United); Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Luca de la Torre (San Diego FC), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Jack McGlynn (Houston Dynamo), Quinn Sullivan (Philadelphia Union); Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven), Sean Zawadzki (Columbus Crew)