Christian Pulisic is one of five USMNT players to return to their club side early from international duty and will miss Tuesday night’s friendly against Mexico.
26-year-old Pulisic has been released back to his club for load management following a busy period of high minutes for his club side AC Milan and at international level, and played 67 minutes in the 2-0 win over Panama.
Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven) and Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids) will also return to their club sides for continued evaluation and treatment after sustaining minor injuries, with no additional players added to the roster.
Pepi was the only player of that quartet to play against Panama, scoring Mauricio Pochettino’s side second goal in added time having replaced Josh Sargent in the 67th minute, while McKennie was an unused substitute.
Marlon Fossey, Weston McKennie, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic and Zack Steffen will return to their clubs ahead of the #USMNT‘s Tuesday friendly in Mexico.
— U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) October 13, 2024
“As we have said, we are always going to make decisions that are in the best interest of our players and respect the relationship we have with their clubs,” said Pochettino.
The remaining 20 players in the USMNT squad will now travel to Guadalajara for a rare friendly in Mexico.
USMNT squad for Mexico match
Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff City), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)
Defenders: Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (Milan), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)
Forwards: Josh Sargent (Norwich City), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alex Zendejas (Club America)
(Logan Riely/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
