NEW YORK (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino is looking forward to having Tim Weah with the U.S national team.
“I played a few games against his father and I want to see if he has the same character, because his father was amazing,” the American coach said. “Every time that I play against, always suffered. It was difficult to sleep the night before.”
A son of former FIFA Player of the Year and former Liberia President George Weah, Tim Weah was among 25 players picked Sunday for Pochettino’s first competitive matches, a CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal series against Jamaica.
Tyler Adams won’t rejoin the Americans. Pochettino wants the midfielder to remain with Bournemouth to regain fuller fitness following a series of injuries.
Weah, who scored for Juventus in Saturday’s win over Torino, is suspended for Thursday's first leg of the total-goals series at Kingston, Jamaica, stemming from a red card in the Copa America loss to Panama in June. He is reporting with the rest of the U.S. team to Orlando, Florida, and will skip Wednesday's flight to Jamaica, instead heading to St. Louis for the second leg on Nov. 18.
Weah was given a two-game suspension for punching defender Roderick Miller on the back of the head on June 27. The 2-1 defeat contributed to the Americans’ first-round elimination, which led the U.S. Soccer Federation to replace Gregg Berhalter with Pochettino.
“It’s an important player. He's playing for one of the best teams in the world," Pochettino said.
Weah withdrew from Pochettino's first camp last month because of an ankle injury and missed Pochettino's first two friendlies, a 2-0 win over Panama and a 2-0 defeat at Mexico.
Adams, the U.S. captain at the 2022 World Cup, was limited to four club matches from March 2023 through the end of the 2023-24 season because of a right hamstring injury. He had back surgery following the Copa America final on July 1 and didn't play again until Oct. 26. On Saturday, he made just his second club start in 20 months.
“A very important player for the future of this team, but the most important thing now is to see the progression,” Pochettino. “We know very well that we need to look after him if we want to have in the best condition him for 2026.”
Pochettino will have just six more training camps with the full player pool before the Americans report ahead of the 2026 World Cup. The next one figures to be for the Nations League final four from March 20-23 at Inglewood, California.
Forward Cade Cowell, midfielder Johnny Cardoso, defender Chris Richards and goalkeeper Diego Kochen also were additions on the roster for the three-time defending champions after missing last month’s games.
Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath and defenders Marlon Fossey and Kristoffer Lund were dropped.
Injured players who will miss the matches include defenders Sergiño Dest and Cameron Carter-Vickers, midfielders Gio Reyna and Luca De La Torre, and forwards Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargent and Haji Wright.
Wright scored for the fourth time in five games for Coventry City on Saturday, then hurt an ankle.
Richards is on the roster despite not playing for Crystal Palace since Sept. 21. He was dressed for Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Fulham.
Cardoso, like Weah, withdrew from the October roster because of an injury.
Christian Pulisic is the most experienced player on the roster with 74 international appearances.
Recruiting players eligible for multiple nations
Pochettino sidestepped a question on whether the U.S. is working to recruit a pair of 20-year-olds: Burnley winger Luca Koleosho, who is in Italy’s program, and Stuttgart defender Anrie Chase, who is in Japan’s program.
“Sometimes we are wrong. We need to be careful. The federation don't need to convince a player because this cannot be the most important — one player more important than the team or 300 million people,” said Pochettino, who is from Argentina. “He needs to show that (he) deserves to come with us, because if not, it's like we are a weak federation, we show our weakness.”
“Maybe less talent is better but people with commitment, people desperate to defend that shirt and fight for the country," Pochettino said.
The roster
Goalkeepers: Diego Kochen (Barcelona Atlètic), Patrick Schulte (Columbus), Zack Steffen (Colorado), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace).
Defenders: Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic).
Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Tanner Tessmann (Lyon), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven).
Forwards: Cade Cowell (Chivas), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey), Tim Weah (Juventus), Alex Zendejas (América).
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Ronald Blum, The Associated Press
