Mauricio Pochettino was re-hired to build the USMNT a bright future, starting with "special" Cavan Sullivan

Ask not what you've already done for your country, but what you might do for your country in four years — that was the message from Mauricio Pochettino as the USMNT boss turned the page from the 2026 World Cup and officially kicked off the four-year journey to 2030. Pochettino picked his first squad of the new World Cup cycle this week with 16-year-old Sullivan, the breakout star of 2026 with six goals, 11 assists and a highlight reel a mile long for Philadelphia Union in MLS, headlining the 28-player list. Sullivan has already signed to join Manchester City when he turns 18 next year and is now set to become a senior international just days after his 17th birthday. MORE — Who is Cavan Sullivan? Longtime USMNT fans have been through the "I know we've said this before, but this one is really the one" ringer more times than we care to admit, but Sullivan is really the one. If not him, then never. Notably absent from the squad, though, was Christian Pulisic. Due to an injury that occurred during this summer's World Cup, Pulisic missed the start of the new season and has only made two 45-minute appearances for AC Milan. Asked about not picking Pulisic, Pochettino spoke instead about the coaching staff's need to expand the player pool and build something brand new over the next four years. "After the World Cup, we start to analyze other players — potential players for this camp," Pochettino said in a press conference on Thursday. "Like I always say, the 28 players that are going to be involved in these four games, for different circumstances, are players we want to see and we want to work with, and that's it. I think it's not a point now in the first camp of a new cycle to explain why one [is here], why another [is not]. "I think the most important thing is now it's a completely different approach than in the past. The World Cup is in four years. We need to work with different objectives and goals. After the World Cup, it's always about new players arriving, new players start to play. I think it's important to give the opportunity for them to show their quality and start to build their career for the next generation of the [national team]." In some ways, Pochettino is better suited to the task before him than to the one just completed. He is a builder and a cultivator, long before a tinkering tactician. He prefers to build his teams from the ground up and to cultivate personal relationships with his players in order to develop them as people, not just as players. The team that he built at Tottenham Hotspur, which culminated in their trip to the UEFA Champions League final in 2019, is the crown jewel of his coaching career with virtually every young player crediting Pochettino for the heights they reached, both collectively and individually. Perhaps this is why U.S. Soccer was so quick to re-sign the Argentine for four more years as soon as the 2026 World Cup was over, when it was widely assumed he would be one and done and take a club job at some point during the 2026-27 European season. And perhaps this is why Pochettino, even knowing he wouldn't be short on other options, was keen to continue. MORE — Pulisic’s situation at AC Milan Of course, he will have significantly less time to work with these young Americans as USMNT boss, but his continued involvement in their blossoming careers will undoubtedly provide a boost for them. Sullivan is chief among them. "He deserves [the call-up]," Pochettino said. "He deserves all the praise that he is getting, because he's performing well, he's playing well, he's giving assists and scoring goals. The important thing is to help [him], to be with him and try to provide a solid platform and support [him], because he still needs to improve. He needs to evolve, needs to be more mature. "It is special because he is 16 years old, playing at this level — in MLS, of course — but he's playing at a very high level. Now, it's another [challenge]. It is a challenge that he will need to adapt to a new level — international competition with international players. … It's a good challenge for us [to help his development], and it's exciting to have him." Pochettino and his staff, which will frequently include under-23 head coach and former USMNT defender Steve Cherundolo as U.S. Soccer builds toward the 2028 Olympics on home soil, will get an extended look at Sullivan and 11 other players yet to earn their first cap when the group convenes to prepare for four friendlies during the upcoming international window. The Yanks will face Peru, Chile, Mexico and Canada over 11 days from Sept. 26 to Oct. 6. "For us, it's a great opportunity to bring new players with potential and to spend more time training together," Pochettino said. "That is [important], because when we were talking about extending the contract, the [U.S. Soccer] Federation asked to help a little bit to build the team to go to the 2028 Olympic Games, working very closely with this team, with the under-23s, with all the youth in the [player pool], to try to build the experience to arrive at the Olympics and [win] a gold medal. "That is the objective of the Federation, that is the objective of everyone, because this country loves the Olympic Games and we know that it's going to be really important for soccer that we are going to present a very competitive team. … We want to see the capacity to improve, the capacity to evolve, the capacity to develop. They are showing all that now in early time. Now we need to do a very good assessment of them to provide them all the tools to keep improving. … They have different character, different personalities, different backgrounds and are brave in different ways." The USMNT's first competitive games of the 2030 World Cup cycle are set for the following month, when they face a yet-to-be-determined side from CONCACAF in the Nations League quarterfinals on Nov. 14 and 17. It will be fascinating to see how many of the old guard are recalled, and how many from the next generation are fast-tracked for a first meaningful cap. "The door is open for everyone. It is a new cycle. It's not what happened a year ago or what happened at the World Cup. To be honest, it is a fresh start."