"If I call, it's about myself." That's Mauricio Pochettino's answer to anyone demanding he personally ring every player he cut from the USA's 26-man World Cup squad. And honestly? He's not entirely wrong.
The controversy erupted after it emerged that players learned their World Cup fate through an emailed video rather than a direct phone call from the manager. At Tuesday's squad unveiling in New York — an event that had already been partially spoiled by leaks days earlier — Pochettino went straight at his critics rather than deflecting.
His logic is blunter than it sounds. As a former player himself, Pochettino says the last thing he ever wanted after being dropped was a sympathy call from the manager who just left him out. "What are you going to say? Am I going to lie?" he said. "'You are not in the roster because I believe that another teammate is, in that period, a better option.'"
Donovan sees both sides — but still wanted the call
USA legend Landon Donovan offered the fairest take in the whole debate. He told The Guardian he could understand the logic, but admitted he would still have wanted to hear a voice on the other end. "Every player is different," he said — which, frankly, is the part Pochettino's one-size-fits-all approach doesn't fully address.
There's something to be said for both positions. Players who've been around the squad for years have earned a conversation. A fringe call-up who barely made the extended 55-man cut? An email probably does the job.
Pochettino also made the point that the door isn't completely shut — final squads aren't locked in until June 1st, and injuries between now and then are always a factor. The cut players need to stay sharp. That part is straightforward football reality, however uncomfortable the delivery.
Two warm-ups before the real thing kicks off
The USA face Senegal on May 31st before a final pre-tournament test against Germany on June 6th. Those two fixtures will tell us a lot about the shape of this squad — and whether Pochettino's selections hold up under scrutiny before the competition begins in earnest.
Whatever you think of the communication method, the selection decisions themselves are what matter now. The email debate will fade. The World Cup won't.
