Cavan Sullivan and Mathis Albert step into the spotlight while Christian Pulisic faces a frustrating wait: Winners and losers of the latest USMNT squad

Say hello to the boy wonder, who is in what many hope and expect will be the first of many USMNT camps.

Sullivan has been rising for years, but is still only 16 years old. This season, though, the production has matched the hype, which is why he's here. Pochettino isn't in the business of calling up social media stars; he's in the business of calling up good soccer players, and Sullivan is that right now.

"He deserves all of the praise that he is getting," Pochettino said. "I think it's because he's performing well. He's giving assists, scoring goals, and he's 16. We don't say he doesn't deserve the praise. The important thing is to help, to be with him, and to provide a solid pattern and support, because he still needs to show, improve, evolve, and be more mature. He's only 16. He's a kid, but I think the most important thing is we have the opportunity now because he deserves to join us in the national team."

Will he be better in the future? Of course, and the best way to foster that is to give him chances to try and, sometimes, to fail. This is one of those chances. Sullivan may or may not be ready for this level. He may or may not waltz into this camp and succeed, which he has done just about everywhere else. It doesn't really matter whether he succeeds or not, in truth. What matters most is that he gets the chance to try.

The more those chances build, the more prepared he'll get and, if the goal is to have him ready for stardom as a 20-year-old in 2030, starting now isn't a bad idea. Now it's on him, though, to make of this what he can. The spotlight will surely be on him, as it always is.

The reason he isn't here is obvious: Pulisic is fresh off an injury and only recently made his first appearance of the season. Flying him across the Atlantic to play four games in two weeks would have been silly, both in the short and long term.

Still, it's not ideal that Pulisic misses out, just because many of the narratives around a disappointing World Cup continue to linger because of his absence.

The unfortunate truth is that he can't change those narratives any time soon, and he certainly couldn't have changed them in a group of friendlies more than three-and-a-half years out from the next World Cup. He could have started, though. There are sections of fans who believe Pulisic needs to show more determination and more passion, and he won't get that chance this fall.

Unfortunate for him, then, but also a new reality. Pulisic is a player with a point to prove, and proving it will be tough. That process will have to begin another time.

"I think now is a completely different approach than was in the past," Pochettino said. "The World Cup is in four years. We need to work with different objective and goals, and for different reasons, that roster is the roster that is the the best roster that we can design for this camp."

After over a year-and-a-half out of the picture, Musah is back, and he's earned it.

The last few years haven't been easy for Musah, who stagnated at Milan and found little joy while on loan at Atalanta. He's with Milan now, though, and he's contributing, which has seemingly done wonders for his belief and for Pochettino's belief in him.

Musah is still just 23 years old and, while he's something of a senior member of this particular group, he's still a young player with upside and room to grow. Growth isn't linear, and Musah's path surely hasn't been either. It has, though, gotten him back to where he wants to be: with the USMNT.

"Yunus is still young," Pochettino said. "He wasn't involved in the last World Cup, but now, after seeing from the beginning the season that he is performing in the way that we expect, because some players can play all the game but they are not performing in the way that we expect, but that is why we call again. It's really open, like for rest of the of the players."

He'll have to make the most of this chance, of course, and he'll still have some work to do when it comes to making a good second impression on Pochettino. This camp could be the start Musah needs, though, as he looks to get his USMNT career back on track.

Of the 28 players called up for camp, 13 were members of this summer's World Cup squad.

Many of them are the starters: Tyler Adams, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Sergino Dest, Matt Freese. There are also the understood absences like Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun, all of whom are dealing with injury issues. Then there's Tim Ream, who at 38, might not be seen as a part of this cycle - though Pochettino hasn't said anything about his status and the defender said he's still available for international duty.

For those who were not starters this summer, though, roster spots were harder to come by. Matt Turner, Max Arfsten, Mark McKenzie, Joe Scally, Cristian Roldan, Brenden Aaronson, Tim Weah, Alejandro Zendejas - all World Cup veterans, but all left at home. 

Pochettino made it clear that exclusions aren't permanent and that every player can play their way right back into the team. Still, when you're expanding the player pool, it's players 15-26 on a World Cup roster that have to fight for their spots. That fight has already begun.

"The door is open for everyone," Pochettino said. "Now it's a new start. It's a new cycle. It's not what happened one year ago, one year and a half ago, what happened in the World Cup. To be honest, it's a fresh start. It's a roster that we consider is the best for that period."

If Albert plays 93 minutes this camp, it means he'll have played more senior minutes for his country than his club. Still, Pochettino decided it was worth calling him in. That's a pretty strong endorsement of his potential, no?

While it's easy to say teenagers like Sullivan, Neil Pierre and Adri Mehmeti have earned their spots with their performances on the field, Albert hasn't quite done that yet. The obvious caveat, though, is that he's playing for a top club in Europe. Dortmund are high on him, which is why he's been in and around the first team at age 17 and, if Dortmund believe in a player, it's usually because that player is pretty good.

So, while Albert is the most inexperienced player in this camp, he might just be the player with the most upside. That's why Pochettino wants a closer look, and that's why he's in camp for a learning experience that could lead to bigger and better things for club and country.