Poch: New-look USMNT must 'fight for place' at WC

HARTFORD, Conn. -- United States men's nationalist squad caput manager Mauricio Pochettino said it's important to not wage excessively overmuch attraction to the circumstances surrounding his squad enactment for the Concacaf Gold Cup, but alternatively to "trust successful the roster" and supply an situation for the players to "fight for a place" connected the World Cup.

Pochettino's preparations for the Gold Cup -- which includes a affable against Turkey connected Saturday -- person been hampered by a fig of players rendered unavailable.

These see AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic (fatigue), Fulham defender Antonee Robinson (knee surgery), PSV Eindhoven defender Sergiño Dest (continued betterment from ACL surgery) arsenic good arsenic the Juventus duo of Weston McKennie and Tim Weah (Club World Cup commitments).

What was hoped to beryllium an extended play with his champion players up of adjacent year's World Cup connected location soil, has turned into thing precise different. Pochettino has been forced to excavation the depths of the USMNT subordinate pool, with the 26-player Gold Cup roster including 7 uncapped players and different 7 with less than 5 planetary appearances.

"We request to accommodate to the condition and I deliberation it's important not to wage excessively overmuch attraction [to them]," Pochettino told reporters connected Friday. "It's lone to effort to judge and to supply the players a bully situation for them to execute and combat for a spot and to beryllium successful the World Cup successful 1 year.

"Of people antithetic players that possibly with the accidental to beryllium here, are not present [in this] circumstance, but we cannot alteration that reality."

When asked if helium thought that the existent roster was bully capable to triumph the Gold Cup, Pochettino declined to answer, alternatively focusing connected the accidental that the players person successful beforehand of them.

"I deliberation it's a large accidental for america to settee things. That sometimes is hard erstwhile you lone person fewer days to bid and you request to play," helium said. "I deliberation present it's a large accidental to beryllium unneurotic during 1 period ... And past we volition see.

"Always it's astir the accidental you request to supply the accidental to the subordinate and the subordinate possibly tin instrumentality oregon not. But the important happening present is to spot successful this roster and effort to vie believing that we tin win."

Pochettino has leveled immoderate thinly veiled criticisms astatine the USMNT astir the cognition successful shown successful anterior gatherings. U.S. World Cup skipper Tyler Adams said that Pochettino has communicated to this radical what helium expects.

"I deliberation that the mentality has to beryllium acceptable clear, and I deliberation [Pochettino] has made that wide since time one, that we're present to work," Adams said. "We're present to bask ourselves connected the pitch, get amended each azygous day, larn what we person to spell through.

"We're traveling each implicit the place; we're evidently playing overseas and we travel backmost location and it is bully to spot your families. But we person to find the close equilibrium of that.

"And I deliberation erstwhile helium speaks to that, helium means we request to find the equilibrium of doing the enactment connected the field, making definite we're doing the enactment and erstwhile we person downtime to remainder successful the due mode truthful that we're capable to retrieve for the matches.

"So yeah, helium talks astir equilibrium rather a batch and marque definite that we recognize that we request to beryllium apical professionals. That's the astir important thing."