'Concerned about this roster, period' - Tony Meola surprised that Mauricio Pochettino opted not to 'narrow down' USMNT squad ahead of September friendlies

Addressing Mauricio Pochettino's roster for the September friendlies against South Korea and Japan, World Cup veteran Tony Meola said the USMNT squad selections raise questions about the direction of the program just 10 months out from the 2026 World Cup.

“I am concerned about this roster, period,” Meola said on CBS Sports Golazo. “I'm trying to live by my own words that this is the manager's roster and, we support the manager. And I'm concerned about this roster because... this camp I thought we were going to narrow down. Of course, there’s always one or two tweaks or additions and all of that stuf.

"I'm starting to think that these some of these guys are Pochettino’s guys. And me, personally, I'm gonna have to wrap my head around some of that because when I look at the roster there's no one guy that goes tha jumps off the page. Like there's not one. But when I put them all together, right?... I am a little bit concerned by this roster - and they will get tested in these two games, by the way.”

At the same time, Meola acknowledged that managers don't need to defend or explain their roster decisions.

“Do we think the managers owe us those conversations?" Meola said. "Because I’m off the belief that they don’t. If they do it would be awesome. It would be awesome to hear from Pochettino go ‘I left Weston (McKennie) off because he’s had some issues at the club in the beginning of this season and the past, he doesn’t start the first game and I need him to settle in.' And then you’d be like, ‘OK he likes Weston, we like Weston and we’re going to see him at the World Cup, we’re cool.' It would be great. But I don’t know that he owes us any of that."

Pochettino inherited a talented but inconsistent player pool when he took charge of the USMNT and his approach thus far has prioritized tactical flexibility and competition for roster spots rather than cementing a core group.

The USMNT face South Korea on Sept. 6 at Sports Illustrated Stadium in New Jersey followed by Japan on Sept. 9 at Lower.com Field in Columbus, Ohio.