PHILADELPHIA — The last U.S. men’s soccer roster before the World Cup team is picked shows a far-from-settled depth chart three months before the tournament.

Attacking midfielder Gio Reyna made it despite barely playing for his club, Germany’s Borussia Mönchengladbach, but Alejandro Zendejas didn’t, despite playing well for his club, Mexico’s Club América.

Auston Trusty made it at centerback, and versatile defender Joe Scally made it, despite not playing well on Mönchengladbach’s back line. But marquee prospect Noahkai Banks pulled himself out for this camp as he weighs whether to commit to the U.S. or Germany.

There also seems to be a battle brewing for the backup goalkeeper position. Patrick Schulte didn’t make the cut this time amid an 0-2-2 start to the MLS season with Columbus. But U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino called four goalkeepers into this camp instead of the usual three: Chris Brady, Roman Celentano, Matt Turner and expected starter Matt Freese.

On top of that, Pochettino has had to battle the injury bug. Outside back Sergiño Dest is down with a hamstring injury until May. Midfielder James Sands has an ankle injury that required surgery, ending his club season at Germany’s St. Pauli and presumably ending his slim World Cup hopes.

Two stalwarts, midfielder Tyler Adams (quadriceps) and forward Haji Wright (groin), have suffered minor tweaks in recent days, while attacking midfielder Diego Luna is just back from a knee injury. They aren’t on this squad out of precaution, which is understandable. Pochettino said he’d heard from Adams’ club, England’s Bournemouth, that he’s out 2-3 weeks.

Still, they’ll be missed for this month’s games in Atlanta against superstar-laden European opponents, Belgium on March 28 (3:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo) and Portugal on March 31 (7 p.m., TNT, Telemundo).

“It’s important that they can recover as soon as possible and perform and then to have the possibility to be selected for the last roster [for the World Cup],” Pochettino said.

Pochettino’s views

It was no surprise that the first question Pochettino took in his news conference was about Reyna. The 23-year-old’s games last November, including a goal against Paraguay at Subaru Park, shot him back into the manager’s good graces, despite the lack of playing time.

“Before the last decision for the last roster, for the World Cup, I think it’s good to see players that maybe are not playing too much,” Pochettino said. “It’s to see if he’s affected about that and [if] he is capable to perform with us. … I think we really know that he’s a very special talent and very special player.”

Pochettino used to draw a pretty hard line about players who don’t play regularly for their clubs. He has backed off it now.

“It’s an art,” he said. “We cannot follow some rule because I think it’s not fair to judge all in the same way. … All are completely different — different character, different profiles, different quality, different talent.”

Perhaps his most important words of the day were that the door is “still open” for players who didn’t make this squad, such as Zendejas.

“Everyone is saying that maybe it’s the last opportunity, but it’s not closed,” Pochettino said, later adding, “What I can tell the players that today didn’t reach the roster [is] it’s not that they are not going to have the possibility to be in the final roster. And the players that today are in the roster, they cannot think they are going to be in the final roster.”

He said of Zendejas specifically: “Alejandro, I know very well. I know how he can adapt in the dynamic of the group. I know very well how he can work.”

Inside the Noahkai Banks situation

Banks faces a life-defining choice, and it can’t be reversed. He has played for U.S. youth teams, including at the 2023 under-17 World Cup, and earned his first senior call-up last September. But the Hawaii native has not played a game at the top level yet and remains eligible to switch to the country he moved to as a young child.

Pochettino has said in the past that he doesn’t care as much about dual-national recruiting as his predecessors. But he knows Banks is too talented to ignore. He confirmed a report by Germany’s Sky Sports that he had a video call with the 19-year-old. Top U.S. assistant Jesús Pérez also visited Banks at his club, Germany’s FC Augsburg, at the start of this month.

“We had great contact, and I really appreciate him,” Pochettino said. “He’s a very nice kid. But he’s in a difficult situation. And I hope for the USA that the decision will be for our side, because I think it’s not only [for the] present, it’s [for the] future too.”

Banks said last month that he has “been in touch with Germany before,” but “was always very happy with the U.S.” He then said “you can’t tell what happens in the future, but at the moment, there’s not a thought of switching, or something like this, because I’m happy with the U.S.”

That seems to have changed since then. Sky Sports also reported, though, that none of the senior officials at the DFB (Germany’s federation) have contacted Banks.

Two big names return

There is at least one piece of good news. Antonee Robinson is back with the U.S. squad for the first time since last October, and hopes to play for the first time since November 2024. He should slot straight into the starting left wingback spot, a big boost for the back line and the entire team.

Midfielder Johnny Cardoso also is back for the first time since last summer’s Gold Cup. He has a track record of not playing well for the national team, but he made a big club move after that tournament to Spanish giant Atlético Madrid. Cardoso has played 22 games there, including six in the Champions League.

Now he gets one shot to show he can deliver for his country and make a late run to make the World Cup squad.

Pochettino summed it all up by translating an idea from his native Spanish to English. It didn’t work perfectly, but it was still understandable.

“We have plenty of players that deserve to be in the roster, and that is going to be painful,” he said. “It’s painful for me and for us to take decisions. But it’s going to be expensive to get to 26 [the World Cup roster size] because the competition is big, and the pool is massive.”

USMNT March roster

— Goalkeepers (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC; Wayne), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

— Defenders (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Alex Freeman (Villarreal, Spain), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse, France; Bear, Del.), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Auston Trusty (Celtic, Scotland; Media)

— Midfielders (8): Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Atlético Madrid, Spain), Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough, England), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Lyon, France); Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)

— Forwards (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, England; Medford), Patrick Agyemang (Derby County, England), Folarin Balogun (Monaco, France), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan, Italy), Tim Weah (Marseille, France)

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