USMNT roster for 2025 Gold Cup: Pochettino reveals USA men's squad for CONCACAF summer tournament

With the European club campaign almost complete, the U.S. men's national team is gearing up for its last chance at competitive action before next year's enormous World Cup on home soil.

That means it's time for head coach Mauricio Pochettino to name his roster for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup, which the U.S. will host per usual, largely on the west coast of the nation this year to avoid conflicting with the Club World Cup.

Twenty-six players will be available for the USMNT to gun for a continental title, looking to unseat defending champions Mexico who triumphed in 2023 after the U.S. was beaten on penalties by Panama in the semifinals.

The roster is bereft of many regular U.S. stars, including Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, Yunus Musah, and a host of other first-team players who have been left off to rest and recuperate from the club season. Instead, a significant makeup of the roster comes from MLS, despite the competitive importance of this window.

The Sporting News brings you a look at who could represent the United States and gain valuable minutes ahead of next summer's FIFA tournament also on home soil.

MORE: Full USMNT schedule for 2025 calendar year

USMNT roster for 2025 Gold Cup

CONCACAF allows a 26-man roster for the 2025 Gold Cup, which is a slight increase over the 23 players allowed on the Nations League squads.

While the U.S. must first navigate pre-tournament friendlies against Turkey (June 7) and Switzerland (June 10), the Gold Cup rosters were due on June 5 and thus the same crop of players will also be on hand for those two games as well. 

Everyone on this squad was named to the 60 who were named to the preliminary roster, and any individuals who are called in as injury replacements will also have to be from that list.

Following the two friendlies, the USMNT will then begin Gold Cup play with their first group stage match against Trinidad & Tobago, followed by matches against guest nation Saudi Arabia and Haiti.

MORE: Why leaving Christian Pulisic off the Gold Cup roster presents a sizable risk by Mauricio Pochettino

*Caps correct as of May 22.

* Injury replacement

Pulisic, Musah, Carter-Vickers all rested for summer tournament

The evening before the Gold Cup roster announcement, a report from Doug McIntyre of Fox Sports revealed that superstar Christian Pulisic would be left off the Gold Cup roster along with his club teammate Yunus Musah, a shocking decision from Mauricio Pochettino.

The reports claim that Pulisic is dealing with a hip flexor injury which has only just come to light, even though he has played significant minutes for AC Milan through the end of the season, including 11 straight Serie A starts to finish the league season plus a run to the Coppa Italia final.

MORE: Pochettino's decision to leave Pulisic, others off Gold Cup roster is a needless risk

This has drawn significant criticism on two fronts. First, the lack of competitive minutes until the World Cup means the USMNT players have only a few opportunities to build chemistry and togetherness with their international teammates. Second, it continues the pervasive notion that USMNT players lack grit and toughness, a perceived narrative by the fanbase that, whether true or not, has been talked about going back beyond Pochettino's hire.

The central defensive position is a major headache for Pochettino, which is why it was equally surprising to see a report the day before the roster announcement that Celtic duo Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty were also left out of the squad, also likely to be rested. That came to pass, with Pochettino explaining their absences as a "football decision."

The two are far from the only USMNT players to have endured a club campaign full of work, but their combined 7,000 minutes means they are good candidates to have the summer off while Pochettino gets a look at other center-back options.

Explaining absences of Reyna, McKennie, Robinson, Pepi

Fans may notice that certain notable regulars have been left off the roster, and will be wondering why.

Many of these can be explained by their unavailability, either due to club commitments this summer or injury. That's the case for both Gio Reyna and Ricardo Pepi, with Reyna falling under the former category and Pepi the latter.

Reyna was left off even the 60-man preliminary list. This is likely due to his club Borussia Dortmund being involved in the Club World Cup this summer, and while Reyna is not necessarily a regular in the side, he could be involved, especially if Dortmund wish to give him minutes to prove himself worthy of a transfer away.

That's the case for Juventus duo Weston McKennie and Tim Weah as well, who are both set to participate in the Club World Cup with their Italian side, leaving them unavailable for selection.

When it comes to Pepi, the PSV striker was in exceptional goal-scoring form this season and seemed to have earned the USMNT starting striker role, but he was cruelly cut down by a serious knee injury a number of months ago. It's not clear when he will be back to action — if he will be ready to start next season with PSV or if he'll need more time — but he is a definite miss this summer for the national team.

Also injured is Antonee Robinson, who has been dealing with a tendon issue all season long which caused him to miss out on the March international window and has not appeared for the USMNT since last November. U.S. Soccer indicated they are shutting Robinson down for the summer to give him time to heal and recover. Also absent from the final roster was Sergino Dest, who withdrew from the squad after participating in pre-tournament camp to rest his recent ACL injury. Dest has only just returned from a long absence, and it was determined by the medical staff before the Turkey friendly that it would be best if he sat out the summer in favor of an "individual training program."

USMNT veteran is Walker Zimmerman, who was included on the preliminary roster, only just returned from a concussion but has been included as an injury replacement after the departure of Shawn Zawadzki.

Other notable players who were not included yet to have an explanation are Josh Sargent, Tanner Tessmann, Joe Scally, and Alejandro Zendejas. Those individuals can still be called in for the Gold Cup itself if Pochettino decides to bring them in after the pre-tournament friendlies.

USMNT schedule at 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup

Pre-tournament friendlies

Gold Cup group stage

The U.S. will contest Group D at the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup. They will need to finish top two in the four-team group to qualify for the knockout stage.

Gold Cup knockout stage

The 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup knockout stage bracket will be arranged at the conclusion of the group stage. The four group winners will be drawn against the four group runners-up.

Two quarterfinals will take place in Glendale, AZ, while the other two will be in Minneapolis, MN. One semifinal will be contested in St. Louis, with the other in Santa Clara. The final will take place in Houston, TX.