The US has two friendly matches scheduled for January, playing Venezuela Costa Rica in Florida.
The new head coach of the US national team, Mauricio Pochettino, has announced his squad for the two upcoming friendlies taking place in Florida in January.
The USMNT will take on Venezuela at Inter Miami's Chase Stadium (Saturday, January 18), while the test against Costa Rica will take place the following Wednesday (January 22) in Orlando.
A look at the Argentina roster might lead many to wonder why the coach has chosen to call up players almost exclusively from the MLS, but there is a simple reason for the lack of big names on the American roster.
International FIFA Calendar
These two matches have been organized by US Soccer (at Pochettino's request) in partnership with both the Costa Rican and Venezuelan FAs, and because the matches fall outside FIFA's international framework, the USMNT's European-based stars will not participate because there is no obligation from their clubs for their release.
The first approved FIFA international window of 2025 is March 17-25.
This is why players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie or Antonee Robinson are not on the squad list at the matches where the Argentine coach can look at newer or fringe players in a competitive environment.
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