Steffen, Busio back with USMNT as Pochettino names 1st roster

CHICAGO (AP) — Mauricio Pochettino's first roster as U.S. national team coach brought back goalkeeper Zack Steffen, who was dropped under Gregg Berhalter.

Midfielder Gianluca Busio was the other notable addition to the 25-man roster announced Wednesday for friendlies against Panama on Oct. 12 at Austin, Texas, and Mexico three days later at Guadalajara.

Defenders Antonee Robinson and Miles Robinson and midfielder Weston McKennie were added after being given the September games off to remain with their clubs.

Goalkeeper Diego Kochen and defender Caleb Wiley were dropped.

Injured players who will miss the matches include defenders Sergino Dest, Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers, and midfielders Tyler Adams and Gio Reyna.

Pochettino was hired on Sept. 10 and becomes the 10th U.S. coach in 14 years and the first foreign-born leader since Jurgen Klinsmann from 2011-16.

Steffen, Matt Turner, Ethan Horvath and Patrick Schulte are the goalkeepers on the roster.

Steffen started six of 14 World Cup qualifiers, with Turner in goal for the other eight. Steffen was surprisingly omitted from the 2022 World Cup roster and hasn't played for the national team since the final qualifiers in March 2022, though he was on the bench for CONCACAF Nations League matches in March 2023.

The 29-year-old Steffen has 29 international appearances and started all 31 Major League Soccer games for Colorado this season after playing in just two Premier League matches over 4½ seasons with Manchester City.

Turner lost his starting job at Nottingham Forest last season, was loaned to Crystal Palace in August and has not played this season. Ethan Horvath has not played for Cardiff since Aug. 31.

Schulte started last month against Canada and Turner against New Zealand under interim coach Mikey Varas. Steffen and Turner are among four MLS players on the roster.

Busio, 22, helped Venezia gain promotion to Serie A this season and played for the U.S. at the Paris Olympics. He played for the U.S. at the 2021 and 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cups, when a largely second-string roster was used.

Nineteen players were on the roster for the Copa America, where first-round elimination led to Berhalter's firing. Twelve players remain from the 2022 World Cup roster, including Christian Pulisic and McKennie.

The roster

Goalkeepers: Ethan Horvath (Cardiff), Patrick Schulte (Columbus), Zack Steffen (Colorado), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace)

Defenders: Marlon Fossey (Standard Liege), Kristoffer Lund (Palermo), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)

Midfielders: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds), Gianluca Busio (Venezia), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Weston McKennie (Juventus) Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Yunus Musah (AC Milan), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven)

Forwards: Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Josh Sargent (Norwich), Timothy Weah (Juventus), Haji Wright (Coventry)