The clock is ticking. Mauricio Pochettino can feel it. Just a year separates the U.S. men's national team from a World Cup on home soil and, more than ever, it's apparent that there's work to be done. The Gold Cup next on the agenda, a multi-week meeting ground to give Pochettino and his staff their longest preparation period of his World Cup runway.
That all looks different, though. On Thursday, Pochettino's roster was unveiled for the upcoming matches. The USMNT, coming off a pair of disappointing CONCACAF Nations League losses in March, will head into the Gold Cup without many of its stars - including Christian Pulisic and Antonee Robinson - significantly altering the chemistry of a crucial summer.
It's still crucial - maybe even more so given the absences - but the look and feel of the USMNT will be different than what many expected. Pochettino knows that but, for him, expectations have not deviated.
"We need to create a culture of winning," Pochettino said. "We need to chase that because, if we want to be good in one year, we need to think that today is the important day. We need it to be from today. If we say, 'OK, I'll wait because the World Cup is in one year', then it's in six months, then in one month and then it's too late. That's why I think it's important to have a different approach.
"I think we learned a lot in the last few camps, for sure in March, and I think it's about maybe using a different way to approach this. This opportunity is amazing. We are so motivated and excited. We are, with full energy, working to create a good group that we can feel proud of."
GOAL looks at five key takeaways from Pochettino's squad selection.
