The U.S. men's national team will look to make it three straight wins on Saturday, Oct. 3 when it faces Mexico in Glendale, Arizona.
But the U.S. will be without one of its most impactful players against Mexico in recent years: Christian Pulisic.
Pulisic was omitted from Mauricio Pochettino's 28-man roster for the USMNT's four matches in September and October.
The U.S. is two for two so far in its post-World Cup era, beating Peru 4-1 on Saturday, Sept. 26 before a 4-2 win over Chile three days later.
Pochettino has brought in a number of new faces as he looks to evaluate some of the country's best young prospects. The USMNT coach has already given 12 players their first caps in this window, eight of which are teenagers.
But there are also a number
of veterans on the roster. Pulisic isn't among them.
The 28-year-old's absence is something of a mystery. Though he was injured at the World Cup and missed much of AC Milan's preseason, Pulisic has been back in the mix with his club for well over a month.
When given the opportunity to explain Pulisic's absence from his roster, Pochettino declined to get into specifics.
"There is no point now in the first camp of this new cycle to start to explain why one player [is on the roster] and not another. Because if not, maybe we will spend an hour here. We always work to try to call the players we believe are the best for this roster," the Argentine said when asked about Pulisic.
Pulisic has enjoyed a number of signature moments against El Tri over the years. His penalty in extra time was the winner in the 2021 Concacaf Nations League final, securing a memorable 3-2 victory.
He also scored the winner in a 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Mexico in 2021. After his goal, Pulisic lifted his jersey up to reveal a shirt that read "Man in the Mirror" – a reference to Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa, who said before the game that the USMNT wanted to "mirror" itself after Mexico.
if you wanna make the world a better place,
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) November 13, 2021
take a look at yourself then make the change... pic.twitter.com/ST7fa1e3hr
Pulisic also scored a brace against Mexico in the 2023 Nations League semifinal, a 3-0 win for the USMNT that featured four total red cards.
But the star forward has yet to play Mexico since Pochettino took over. He missed a friendly loss in October 2024 due to "load management," while he also opted out of the 2025 Gold Cup to rest after a long club season with AC Milan. The USMNT ultimately fell 2-1 in the final against Mexico.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why is Christian Pulisic not playing for USMNT vs Mexico tonight?
