The Gold Cup is nearly upon us, and U.S. national team manager Mauricio Pochettino has already promised some changes for the U.S. men's national team. After falling flat in the CONCACAF Nations League, those changes are necessary as the coach looks to get back on the right track.
“The right mindset must be there, because we need to compete for our flag, our country," Pochettino said last month. "What we are trying to do as a staff is to optimize every single area of preparation, and the mentality of the players is really important. We need to be intelligent in the way that we are going to select the players and not just choose based on talent alone. We need to have the right characters to be really competitive.”
Most of those characters will be familiar faces. Christian Pulisic is one, no doubt. No one else can bring what Tyler Adams does to this team as a defensive midfielder. Diego Luna has played his way into a spot, while Chris Richards' run to the FA Cup final with Crystal Palace has more than solidified his.
There are still spots up for grabs, though, and there's a possibility Pochettino could look at players he hasn't worked with before. With that in mind, GOAL looks at seven young USMNT hopefuls that have made a case to be involved at the Gold Cup this summer.