Soccer <\/p>\n
Right from the jump, Mauricio Pochettino made clear to the players he convened for the US men\u2019s national team<\/a>\u2019s January 2025 camp that their quality and productivity on the pitch, not the league or continent where they ply their club ball, will determine who earns future call-ups.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cThe first meeting that we had with Poch,\u201d Real Salt Lake<\/a> midfielder Emeka Eneli<\/a> told reporters earlier this week, \u201cwe were all in the meeting room, and he said, \u2018It doesn’t matter where you’re playing. We take the players that are in the best form, and those are the players that are going to make the final roster.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The USMNT\u2019s Argentine leader drove home that message again as he addressed the media on Friday, one day before a friendly vs. Venezuela at Inter Miami<\/a>\u2019s Chase Stadium (3 pm ET) that marks the first of two matches in which this young-ish, MLS-dominated squad will look to impress the coaching staff.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to add players to compete for a position on the national team, and then, yes, to be confident and to show their real quality,\u201d Pochettino said of what he called a \u201cfantastic\u201d opportunity to evaluate emerging and domestic-based talent in his program\u2019s player pool. \u201cIt\u2019s not important from where they come. For us, it’s important how they are going to perform here, with us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe message is, please show me that we can come with you and you, playing here in MLS, can compete with players that are competing in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n The subtext to all this is the legacy of previous regimes, particularly Jurgen Klinsmann\u2019s, which placed varying degrees of emphasis on finding a path to Europe, the sport\u2019s traditional power center, in order to draw the most attention and consideration from the USMNT staff.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It’s not where you came from. It’s how you perform while you’re here. pic.twitter.com\/RNhQaO0H4r<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) January 17, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Pochettino seems set on pushing back against any such mentality, speaking even more bluntly in his first language about how much he\u2019d welcome seeing January campers race their comrades overseas for spots and minutes in the countdown to the 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a>.<\/p>\n Plying your trade in one of the so-called \u2018Big Five\u2019 leagues doesn\u2019t grant anyone a \u201cgreen card,\u201d as he called it, to walk into the national team.<\/p>\n \u201c[The camp] is important, because we are seeing players in our league who can become important, who can have the same level as the players who are playing abroad. Because MLS has grown a lot in recent years,\u201d said \u2018Poch\u2019 in Spanish. \u201cMaybe the idea remains that to compete well, you have to go outside the United States, but this camp helps us to see the competitive level and quality, to be able to compare it with the players. There are many of these players who could be abroad, just as many of those who are abroad could be in MLS.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are seeing players who have nothing to envy of the guys who have been here before, and I think that has to reach the players who are in Europe who think that they are going to come just because they are in Europe. They have to feel that there are players here who are pushing for a place, and they have to push, too.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Focus and intensity. It’s match week in Miami. pic.twitter.com\/i6CHsiCA90<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) January 13, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n That spirit of possibility and openness has flooded that much more optimism and drive among this month\u2019s group, many of whom are experiencing this level for the first time in their careers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe all saw that Brandon Vazquez<\/a>, he went from Monterrey to Austin<\/a>, and he said that he called Poch and asked him, \u2018Is this move going affect my ability to get called up to the national team?\u2019 He said, \u2018No, why would it? If you’re playing well in MLS, scoring goals, doing what you do in MLS, you can get called up to any camp you want to,\u2019\u201d noted Eneli, who Pochettino hinted has earned game time in these friendlies.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think just him going out of the gate by saying that, it just makes us all believe that we have a really good chance at hopefully getting called into future national team camps. And then just to continue to put our head down, grind even harder, and just make the most of the opportunity that we have here right now.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Mauricio ???? @Mascherano<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/0YgamvEanw<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) January 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n All that, combined with so many new faces and so much of the camp\u2019s first week spent building up fitness levels after the players\u2019 offseason, makes the opponent\u2019s identity less essential than in a fully competitive match.<\/p>\n But Venezuela figure to pose a hearty test considering they, too, have called in a hungry group \u2013 one that includes Atlanta United<\/a> defender Ronald Hern\u00e1ndez<\/a>, Austin FC midfielder Dani Pereira<\/a> and Orlando City<\/a> goalkeeper Javier Otero<\/a> \u2013 keen to state their credentials for bigger roles as the rising Vinotinto look to reach their first-ever World Cup next year.<\/p>\n For both sides, the hunt for 2026 roster spots is well and truly on.<\/p>\n \u201cI have the opportunity now to say thank you to all the clubs that allowed the players to come. I think it means a lot for me personally, and for the national team, for the federation,\u201d said Pochettino. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing that the clubs collaborate with us, sending their players, and that is an important thing.<\/p>\n \u201cThe level is very good,\u201d he added. \u201cToday, when we finish the training session, I say, look, after a few months here I think today the session on set pieces was the most quality [he\u2019s seen]. The players that were working showed the most quality, and that talks about how competitive is MLS, and the qualities that we have, young players that need to feel that they can compete and they can reach the level that the national team requires.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nProving ground<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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First impressions<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Time to shine<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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Big picture<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n