Meet the USMNT newcomers: From Noahkai Banks to Tristan Blackmon to Jonathan Klinsmann, Mauricio Pochettino has embraced fresh faces for fall friendlies

Celentano is the model of what U.S. goalkeepers used to look like - but with an eye to the future. The FC Cincinnati shot-stopper starred for Indiana University for three years, and was the second overall pick in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. The MLS club immediately sent him out on loan to their second team, but recalled him after a month. 

By April 2022, he was the nailed-down starter for Cincinnati, and has remained since. The statistical body of work paints a picture of an excellent goalie - especially for his age.

Celentano's save percentage has been north of 70 for last three years as a pro. He is overperforming his post-shot xG - effectively a measure of how often he is saving shots that should otherwise be goals. He is second in MLS in clean sheets this season. If Matt Freese is the top American goalkeeper, Celentano is making a pretty compelling case to be No. 2.

First of all: yes, he is related to the guy you know. He is, in fact, the son of Jurgen Klinsmann, the former USMNT coach. Now would seem an odd moment to bring him into the fold, but the timing tracks with Pochettino's principles of handing out debuts left and right.

Klinsmann is a journeyman of sorts, starting his career at UC Berkeley before embarking on a European and American tour, yet settling abroad. He played sparingly for Hertha Berlin II from 2017-2019, and was given a couple of looks across three years in the LA Galaxy system from 2021-2023.

But now, he has found a more permanent home, and shown his quality as a result. Klinsmann signed a year deal with Italian Cesena in Febuary 2024. It seemed a last chance for a player whose soccer career might otherwise have passed him by.

Instead, Klinsmann thrived. He starred between the sticks as Cesena achieved promotion to Serie B, and has retained his spot in goal. This isn't his first call up - Klinsmann was named to a squad in November 2018. But that inclusion was as a last minute replacement for the injured Zack Steffen.

Technically, we all knew this one early. Vancouver's Thomas Muller accidentally leaked Blackmon's inclusion at a rather funny news conference on Aug. 24 - some 48 hours before the USMNT roster was announced. But that, of course, doesn't make Blackmon any less deserving.

A solid centerback who has been a crucial part of the Whitecaps' recent success, Blackmon will add depth to the already expanding pool in defense. His career has been one not particularly atypical of the old fashioned MLS route. He played four years at the University of the Pacific, where the coaching staff converted him from a forward into a centerback.

LAFC were the first MLS club to bite, and took him third overall in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. He bounced around from there before landing in Vancouver in 2022. Since then, he has become a stalwart of one of MLS's best back lines - and good value for the call up that some had been clamoring for.

Sean Zawadzki is another domestic success story. A standout in the Columbus Crew academy, he elected to attend Georgetown, where he was molded into one of the nation's best defensive midfielders. He led the Hoyas to the 2019 National Championship, and earned a Big East Defensive Player of the Year award in the process. 

The Crew signed him to a homegrown deal in 2022, and initially sent him on loan to the reserve side, before bringing him into the senior setup the following year. He played sparingly, at first, but worked his way into the side towards the latter end of the 2023 campaign - when he became an unlikely goal threat.

Manager Wilfried Nancy made him a regular in 2024, while the club handed him a long term deal that will keep him in Ohio through the end of the 2027 season. The 25-year-old has one previous cap for the U.S., where he started against Slovenia in a January camp.

Harriel has been here before - and recently. Pochettino added him to the Gold Cup roster over the summer, and he played 115 minutes at right back across a duo of friendlies against first Turkey and then Switzerland. He was on the bench throughout the USMNT's Gold Cup run, but never saw the field.

He, too, is an example of how Pochettino has chosen to make use of North America's top-flight set up. A Philadelphia Union academy player, he signed a last-minute homegrown deal with the club despite committing to play soccer at Clemson. He was swiftly sent to the second team, where he made 41 appearances in three seasons.

But in 2021, he got his chance with the first team - making his first start in September. The following season, he was a regular, and has played at least 25 games in every season since. 

Noahkai Banks has been tipped for stardom for a while, and took his talents to Europe as a teenager. He impressed for various youth academies before settled in Augsburg. His rise since then has been rapid. He made just 18 appearances for the reserve side before receiving a call up to the first team last year.

He has since become a regular for the first team and was included in the side for the first Bundesliga fixture of the season. His US Youth National experience is extensive, having appeared for the U17-U20 setups. He is, in effect, up next at the centerback position, which is at least part of the reason Pochettino has him in camp.