In final window before World Cup, Pochettino shows flexibility in club-form demand

The U.S. men's national team roster for the March international window was always going to be looked at with intense scrutiny. Manager Mauricio Pochettino will no doubt cast a critical gaze over the 27 players named to team for games against Belgium and Portugal.

But beyond critiques, Pochettino is preaching something else: flexibility.

While obviously much lower in importance than the World Cup later this year, the upcoming window qualifies as an important moment. It's the last time the USMNT will get together before the World Cup roster is named in May. There's fine-tuning to be done in terms of personnel and tactics. It was also viewed as a veritable Last Chance Saloon for some players as they jockey for playing time and roster spots.

But speaking to reporters Tuesday, Pochettino said all is not lost for those players left off the March roster -- like Alejandro Zendejas and Diego Luna, for example -- regardless of why that happened.

"It's not closed because you can see [injuries] ... the combination and the dynamic of the group can change depending [on] the selection," Pochettino said.

He also mentioned that there are no hard-and-fast rules for player selection as he builds what will ultimately be a 26-player World Cup roster.

"I think the most important [thing] is what the player can add to the team and [if] it can be the right player to help to perform with the team," he said. "That is why we don't follow exactly the rule in all the players exactly in the same way, because all are completely different; different character, different profiles, different quality, different talent. And that is most important to try to find, to detect the right selection, but to be very, very close to performing the way that we perform in the last two camps."

The biggest beneficiary of this flexibility appears to be Gio Reyna. Based on recent form, there's not much of a case to be made for his inclusion in the squad. Reyna has played a whopping 26 minutes over two appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach since the start of the year, with no minutes at all in the past two months. Yet there he is, among the team's list of midfielders.

Is he talented? Sure, and most importantly, he showed how well during the November international window, when he scored against Paraguay and added an assist off the bench against Uruguay. It no doubt helped his cause that Club América's Zendejas and Real Salt Lake's Luna just recently returned to the field after injury layoffs. But still, Pochettino has long preached that club form matters. Now he appears to be making an exception.

"That is a very talented player," Pochettino said of Reyna. "And we know how he can add to the national team ... And he is capable to perform with us. Again, I think we really know that he's a very special talent and very special player. And I think to give the possibility, even if it's not playing too much in his club, it can be very useful for us."

Is Pochettino the latest coach to be beguiled by Reyna's talent? It's possible. All the more reason for Reyna to make the most of this opportunity, because he certainly hasn't done that at club level. At some point, he will run out of chances.

Reyna isn't the only player who benefits from Pochettino's flexibility, as there appears to be no letup in terms of the bad injury luck afflicting the USMNT. PSV Eindhoven defender Sergiño Dest, AFC Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams, Coventry City forward Haji Wright, Zendejas and Luna were either ruled out due to injury or hadn't recovered enough from one to be included. While injuries are part of the game, and no team will have its full complement of players at the World Cup, it's still maddening to see so many U.S. players struck down at key moments.

All of the above-mentioned absences cut deep to varying degrees.

On March 8, Dest was felled by a hamstring injury. His ability as an attacking wild card means he will no doubt be missed, and that's even if his spot on the right flank is taken over by a capable player like Timothy Weah.

Over the weekend, the USMNT's player availability eroded even further. Adams went from telling ESPN last Thursday that he was "feeling like I'm in rhythm again" to feeling something in training Friday to being omitted from the squad against Burnley on Saturday to being left out of the USMNT squad on Tuesday. Pochettino disclosed that Adams is expected to miss "two to three weeks" with a quad injury.

Wright, who had been in splendid form over the past month to the tune of six goals in six games, had to be subbed out of last weekend's match against Southampton with what manager Frank Lampard categorized as a groin issue.

"I think always it's tough," Pochettino said of the injured U.S. players. "It's difficult because it's a great opportunity, or the last opportunity to see the player before to make the decision. That always can have an influence, positive or negative, but it's important that [they] can recover as soon as possible and perform and then to have the possibility to be select for the last roster."

It must be said that it isn't all one-way traffic in the injury department for the USMNT.

Antonee Robinson is back in the national team fold for the first time since appearing in a pair of Concacaf Nations League matches in November of 2024. His ability to contribute on both sides of the ball is a cut above any other left back/wingback in the pool.

Atlético Madrid's Johnny Cardoso looks to be peaking at the right time, as he's shaken off the injury bug to become a consistent presence in the Atléti lineup. While he's yet to perform well in a U.S. jersey, his composure on the ball is a skill from which the team could benefit.

AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic, who alongside Adams is arguably the most vital player in the squad, has been struggling with form and fitness of late, although he looked sharper in last weekend's defeat to Lazio, even as he went goalless for the 11th game in a row. His spot in the lineup isn't under threat, but guiding him to a higher level will be Pochettino's aim during this camp.

"Christian is playing and of course he's not scoring, but for me, it's not only to score goals," Pochettino said. "For me, I am happy with him in the way that he's performing ... and the time that he's playing. And of course, I think it's a great opportunity for him to join us and of course to perform with us and to try to help him to arrive in the best condition to be in a good position to be select also for the last roster."

The next two weeks will see which players can benefit the most.