By OkayGoal 
U.S. men’s national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino isn’t going to allow his star players to pick and choose when they come on international duty.
Pochettino urged those demands during his Saturday press conference ahead of the USMNT’s CONCACAF Gold Cup opener vs. Trinidad & Tobago on Sunday night. Star attacker Christian Pulisic, who was not chosen for the June-July roster, has received plenty of criticism after choosing a period of rest over being with the USMNT in their final competitive window before the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Despite Pulisic’s wishes to take part in the Americans’ two June friendlies against Turkey and Switzerland, Pochettino and his staff decided to leave the 26-year-old off the roster, in order to have one full roster for both sets of matches.
“Players need to listen and to stick with our plan,” Pochettino told media. “They cannot dictate the plan.
“The most important thing is that we explain why we decided not to include him in the two friendly games,” he added. “And then if you have some problems, no, that is not my problem to understand. When I signed my contract in the federation, I am the head coach. I am not a mannequin.”
Pulisic revealed on CBS’ “Call It What You Want” podcast that he didn’t understand Pochettino’s decision to not allow him to be part of the friendly matches, but respected the decision overall. The Pennsylvania native played in 50 matches for AC Milan across all competitions, which marked the most for Pulisic in a single-season of his club career.
However, Pochettino didn’t just want Pulisic to be part of the eventual friendly defeats, he wanted him to be part of the competitive action in the Gold Cup as well. The USMNT enter tonight’s match seeking to end a four-match losing streak in all competitions, which is their worst winless run since 2007.
“It’s true that he wanted to come to be involved in the two friendly games…[but] for us, the Gold Cup is an important tournament,” Pochettino said. “Yes, it was my decision, it was our decision not to include [Pulisic] in the two friendly games, and that’s it.
“It was in our [original] plan to bring him to play in not only the two games, the friendly games, [but] the Gold Cup,” he added.
While Pulisic won’t be involved this summer, Pochettino admitted that he remains in positive communication with his star attacker going forward. Although, Pochettino also expects all players to respect the coaching staff and their decisions, knowing that some players might not agree with all decisions made.
“I love to be in communication with my players,” Pochettino said. “I love to communicate, but at the same time I want to keep that all the players feel the same respect from the coaching staff and for myself, if someone doesn’t like this, then okay.”
Pulisic’s next opportunity to represent the USMNT will come in September when the Americans face South Korea and Japan in a pair of home friendlies (Harrison, N.J. and Columbus, Ohio).