The USMNT Preliminary Gold Cup was recently announced, and there are several interesting names that are up for contention. After an embarrassing performance at the Nations League, Pochettino will have to balance development (as the Gold Cup has been used to give rising players a shot) with the fact that he needs to do well in this tournament to right the wrongs of old.

In this article, I’ll be laying down my 26-man roster and explaining why I picked some players (Damian Downs, McGlynn, etc.) over others (Walker Zimmerman, Patrick Agyemang).

Goalkeepers:

Matt Turner
Patrick Schulte
Diego Kochen

Diego Kochen is getting closer and closer to truly competing for the starting goalkeeper spot, but Matt Turner is still the clear number one, even if his minutes are minimal with Crystal Palace. While Kochen had his ups and downs this season with the Barcelona reserve team, he is good on his feet, and I feel like Pochettino’s system needs a sweeper keeper that is comfortable with positional play ideals, and Kochen definitely has that mentality.

Defenders:

Cam Carter-Vickers
Sergiño Dest
Mark McKenzie
Chris Richards
Antonee Robinson
Joe Scally
Auston Trusty
Caleb Wiley

Dest and Robinson featuring in this squad is huge, and Chris Richards is coming off a top-class performance in the FA Cup final against Manchester City. This group of defenders is miles ahead of what the team had in the Nations League. Also, Walker Zimmerman could have been included, but I think it’s time to phase him and Tim Ream out of the national team. Pochettino needs more energetic defenders to match the pace he wants to set.

Midfielders:

Tyler Adams
Brenden Aaronson
Johnny Cardoso
Luca De La Torre
Diego Luna
Tanner Tessmann
Yunus Musah
Jack McGlynn

With Weston McKennie out of the roster, I decided to include Jack McGlynn. He has an incredible left foot, and he’s currently playing more as a 10 with the Dynamo, adding some flexibility to Pochettino’s arsenal if he’s picked for the national team. Diego Luna is another versatile player who can play higher up, and he was one of the few players that looked good in the Nations League. I expect him to really break out in this tournament and become a true USMNT regular.

Attackers:

Folarin Balogun
Christian Pulisic
Josh Sargent
Malik Tillman
Alex Zendejas
Damian Downs
Haji Wright

Balogun returning is a big help, and I believe Damian Downs is one of the future stars of the USMNT, so getting him included in the mix at such an important tournament could do wonders for his development. Downs, like Luna, who I mentioned above, is versatile and is the type of player that oozes energy and grittiness.

Considering he scored 10 goals and had five assists in the competitive German second division (and a goal against Bayer Leverkusen in the DFB-Pokal), Pochettino should put a lot of effort into prying him away from the German national team, and a Gold Cup call-up could go a long way toward doing so.

With all that said, there are so many different profiles that Pochettino could go for with his roster, but I definitely will be expecting some surprises. Nevertheless, he has to get this roster right, because if he doesn’t, we could see a repetition of the failures that plagued him in his last international tournament.