USMNT Roster is Announced for the Oct 10 & Oct 14 games on TNT, HB0 Max
Nice to see Botchitino finally pick the a decent roster for the our games coming next week. Nice to CCV and Antonee Robinson (back from injury) back on the backline along with Mark McKenzie. Sands, Tessman and Aidan Morris in at the 6 to replace Tyler Adams who is out while his wife gives birth in the next 10 days. Also Matt Turner is back on the Goalkeeper line – hopefully he will get at least 1 start. More on this next week.
The USMNT roster:
Goalkeepers (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew), Matt Turner (New England Revolution).
Defenders (8): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Cameron Carter-Vickers (Celtic), Alex Freeman (Orlando City), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati).
Midfielders (8): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), James Sands (St. Pauli), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen).
Forwards (6): Patrick Agyemang (Derby County), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alex Zendejas (Club América).
The USMNT take on Ecuador on October 10th at Q2 Stadium in Austin. They then complete the October international window with a friendly against Australia on October 14th against Australia at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver. Both Ecuador and Australia are teams that have qualified for the 2026 World Cup and will serve as tests for the United States. In U20 News – the US U20s shocked France 3-0 in game 2 of the U20s for the US – they will definitely advance to the next round where they face Italy on Thursday at 3:30 pm on FS2 and may well be a favorite to get to the Final 4. Also US refs will run Sats Spain vs Brazil game 4 pm on FS2.
High School Soccer Playoffs Start Monday this week
High school soccer playeroffs start this week with #2 Carmel traveling to Zionsville for a sectional with with Cathedral, Lawrence Central, North Central, Westfield and Zionsville. Noblesville host #1 HSE Girls Fishers, Mt Vernon, Muncie, & Pendleton Heights. https://www.ihsaa.org/sports/girls/soccer/2025-26-tournament?round=sectionals
On the boys side Noblesville is hosting Brebeuf, Noblesville, Zionsville, Westfield, & North Central while Hamilton Southeastern is hosting Fishers, Mt Vernon, Muncie, Richmond, & Anderson. https://www.ihsaa.org/sports/boys/soccer/2025-26-tournament?round=sectionals
Indy 11 Win Again – @ Louisville on WNDY 23 7:30 pm Sat
Indy Eleven midfielder Jack Blake scored his USL Championship era (2018-) franchise record 25th Boys in Blue goal for the game-winner in a huge 2-1 victory over Western Conference leader FC Tulsa at Carroll Stadium. The win moves Indy Eleven into a playoff position one point ahead of Rhode Island FC with four games left in the regular season. Indy Eleven will take their two-game winning streak to USL Championship Eastern Conference leader Louisville City FC next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on WNDY 23 and CBS Sports Golazo Network. The Boys in Blue have their final regular season home game with Fan Appreciation Night on Saturday, October 18 at 7 p.m. at Carroll Stadium vs. Loudoun United FC.
Purpose: fill remaining roster spots Not adding new teams
Register: scan the QR on the graphic or use the
link https://system.gotsport.com/programs/4M9139916…
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FULL TV GAME SCHEDULE
Sat, Oct 4
7:30 am USA Leeds United (Aaronson) vs Tottenham
9:30 am ESPN+ Bayer Leverkusen (Tillman) vs Union Berlin
9:30 am ESPN+ Dortmund vs RB Leipzig
10 am USA Man United vs Sunderland
10 am Peacock Arsenal vs West Ham
12:30 pm NBC Chelsea vs Liverpool
4 pm Tele Mexico U20 vs Morocco U20
4 pm Univision Spain U20 vs Brazil U20
7 pm FS2 Argentina U20 vs Italy U20
10:30 pm Apple Seattle Sounders vs Portland Timbers
Sun, Oct 6
10:15 am ESPN+ Sevilla vs Barcelona
11:30 USA Brentford vs Man City
1 pm CBS Washington Spirit (Rodman) vs San Diego NWSL
1:30 pm ESPN+ Gladbach (Scally + Reyna) vs Frieberg
2:45 pm Para+ Juventus (McKinney) vs AC Milan (Pulisic)
3 pm ESPN+ Atletico Madrid (Cardosa) vs Celta
4 pm FS2 USA U20 vs South Africa U20
4 pm Prime, Para+ Chicago Stars vs Utah Royals NWSL
7 pm FS2 Nigeria U20 vs Colombia U20
9 pm Apple LAFC vs Atlanta United MLS
Mon, Oct 6
10:30 pm CBSSN Angel City 0 vs KC Current 1 NWSL
Tues, Oct 7
3:30 pm FS 2 U20 World Cup Chile 1 vs Mexico 4
7 pm FS2 U20 World Cup Spain 1 vs Ukraine 0
Weds, Oct 8
3:30 pm FS 2 U20 WC Argentina 4 vs Nigeria 0
7 pm FS2 U20 World Cup Japan vs France
7 pm Univision u20 WC Paraguay vs Norway
Thurs, Oct 9
2:45 pm Prime Malta vs Netherlands WCQ
2:45 pm Prime Czech Rep vs Croatia WCQ
3:30 pm FS2 U20 WC USA vs Italy
7 pm FS2 U20 WC Morocco vs South Korea
10 pm Para+ Honduras vs Costa Rica
Fri, Oct 10
2:45 pm FS2 France vs Azerbaijan
2:45 pm Prime Germany vs Luxenberg
8:30 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Ecuador
10:45 pm Seattle Reign vs Bay FC NWSL
Sat, Oct 11
9 am FS2 Latvia vs Andorra WCQ
12 noon Prime Norway vs Israel WCQ
2:45 pm FS2 Spain vs Georgia WCQ
2:45 pm Prime Portugal vs Ireland WCQ
4 pm FS2, Tele U20 World Cup Quarterfinal
7 pm FS2 U20 World Cup Quarterfinal
7 pm ESPN+ Indy 11 @ Pittsburgh (Carmel’s -Eric Dick)
7:30 pm Para+ North Carolina vs Washington Spirit NWSL
10 pm CBSSN Utah Royals vs San Diego Wave NWSL
Sun, Oct 12
9 am FS2 San Marino vs Cypress
12N FS2 Netherland vs Finland WCQ
2:45 pm Lithuania vs Poland WCQ
4 pm FS2, Tele U20 World Cup Quarterfinal
5 pm ESPN Angel City vs Houston NWSL
7 pm FS2 U20 World Cup Quarterfinal
Mon, Oct 13
2:45pm FS2 Northern Ireland vs Germany WCQ
2:45 pm Prime Iceland vs France WCQ
8 pm PAra+ Honduras vs Haiti WCQ
Tues, Oct 14
2:45pm FS2 Latvia vs England WCQ
2:45pm Prime Spain vs Bulgaria WCQ
2:45pm Prime Portugal vs Hungary WCQ
9 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Australia
10:30 pm Prime Mexico vs Ecuador
Thurs, Oct 23
9 pm TNT, Max USA Women vs Portugal Chester PA
Sun, Oct 26
4 pm TNT, Max USA Women vs Portugal Hartford CT
Sat, Nov 15
5 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Paraguay Chester PA
Tues, Nov 18
7 pm TNT, Max USA Men vs Uruguay Tampa, FL
USA
Poch: ‘Your name’ won’t guarantee World Cup spot
U.S. gov’t to add staff for WC visa applications
The time for experimentation is over: USMNT squad sees Pochettino’s World Cup vision come into focus
Pulisic, McKennie top U.S. roster for Oct. games
It’s time for a goalkeeper to step up for the USMNT
Truly, it’s past time but better late than never
by Parker Cleveland Oct 4, 2025, 9:00 AM EDT
Getty Images
In what was true until somewhat recently, a dependable strength of the USMNT has been goalkeeper. Somewhat recently is turning into a stretch now as it’s been nearly 10 years since a netminder has locked down the no. 1 shirt for the USA. It could be said that there have been three eras where a starter nailed down the role helping the national team to some impressive victories along the way.
The Tony Meola era could be characterized as a gritty group of players who found playing time with clubs when they could but came together for the national team to achieve some impressive results. Meola nailed down the starting role and the USMNT surprised the world by qualifying for the 1990 World Cup, beat Colombia in 1994, and kept Brazil scoreless for 74 minutes while hosting the tournament.
Brad Fridel and Kasey Keller kicked off an era marked by American keepers emerging as starters in Europe, and especially the Premier League. Fridel’s time abroad paid off for the national team when he became the second ever keeper to save two penalties given in open play in a single game while helping to secure wins against Portugal and Mexico in 2002. He is the only American keeper with two wins in a single World Cup. For his part, Keller made 10 saves against Brazil as the USA upset the multi-World Cup winners 1-0. The 2006 World Cup was not as it was hoped, or hyped, but Keller kept five clean sheets in qualification helping the USA climb to no. 5 in the FIFA rankings ahead of the tournament.
Tim Howard and Brad Guzan were the last of the American keepers to have been able to help the USA punch above its weight against top international competition. Throughout their era the players were stalwarts for their clubs in the Premier League and brought that experience to the national team. Howard kept a clean sheet against Spain in the 2009 Confederations Cup and his performance in 2014 against Belgium is legendary. For his part, Guzan provided stiff competition and was in the net as the USA reached the semi-finals of the 2016 Copa America Centenario. These two would be the last keepers to feature in goal for the USA in upsets against top 10 teams.
After the USA failed to reach the 2018 World Cup a consistent starting keeper has failed to emerge. In this era, Matt Turner, Zach Steffen, Ethan Horvath, Bill Hamid, Sean Johnson, Matt Freese, David Bingham, William Yarborough, and Patrick Schulte have been in the mix for the wearing the gloves game in and game out. Turner and Steffen have been the most promising of this group but neither reached the same level of their predecessors.
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Between 1990 and 2016 the USA enjoyed the reputation of a team that had its flaws but needed to be respected as it could take down a giant on its day. That time was marked by stellar goalkeeping where a strong performance against top teams kept the Americans within striking distance of top teams. The USMNT achieved impressive upsets thanks to those performances.
Looking at the growth of the national team in that time, the team features a roster of players showcasing their talents in the Champions League and in top leagues abroad. Major League Soccer has also grown more competitive as talented players look to the domestic league as a viable option to progress, or end, their careers. That rise in talent has not translated to success for the national team in the era when goalkeeper has not kept up with the rising talent across the pitch.
Chris Brady, Matt Freese, Patrick Schulte, and Matt Turner have a chance to stake the claim on what might be the most important position historically for the national team. The friendlies against Australia and Ecuador will give them a chance to do just that and it can’t happen soon enough with the World Cup approaching in less than a year.
Christian Pulisic is back in form and back in favor as USMNT’s most important player
By Paul Tenorio
Oct. 2, 2025
In the wake of Christian Pulisic’s decision to skip this summer’s Gold Cup, and especially after coach Mauricio Pochettino’s tournament eve declaration: “I am not a mannequin” — there was a real concern about how the relationship between coach and star player was frayed.
More importantly, it fostered a fear of what that might mean for this U.S. team as it tried to get back on track ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
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Less than four months later, the tone has shifted completely. Pochettino made clear the way he feels about the in-form Pulisic on Thursday after unveiling his 26-man roster for friendlies this month against Ecuador and Australia.
“I think we can say that he is the most important player now for the national team,” he said.
Pulisic has been, without a doubt, the most important player and best big-game player in the U.S. pool for years now. He has proved it time and again in the high-pressure moments, scoring in Nations League finals, World Cup qualifying games and, of course, the winner against Iran to send the U.S. through to the knockout stage at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Christian Pulisic shined in the USMNT’s crucial 2022 World Cup clash against Iran.Brad Smith / ISI Photos / Getty Images
If the Americans are going to be successful in the World Cup next summer, it is critical they find a way to maximize Pulisic’s skillset. Amidst the debate this summer about Pulisic’s decision to skip the Gold Cup and Pochettino’s justified declaration that he was the coach in charge of picking the team, it felt like that basic point might be lost.
Everyone can now take a deep breath. Pulisic’s form with AC Milan has ensured the attention shifts back to where it should be. The U.S. star needed to back up his decision to rest this summer, and so far he has — and then some.
“This is the right decision for myself, and for the team, at the end of the day,” Pulisic said on a CBS podcast this summer. “And people will see that. You guys will see, man. I’m hungrier than ever — truly. I’m really looking forward for big things to come.”
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It’s tough to argue Pulisic wasn’t right. (And I’ll put my hand up and admit I was wrong.)
He has four goals and two assists in five Serie A games this season for a Milan team that sits atop the table. He scored another two goals in the Coppa Italia. Pulisic has been one of the best performers in Italy so far this season. His darting run and assist against Napoli, later followed by a goal, speak to that impact.
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La Gazzetta dello Sport ran a full spread of Pulisic — dressed, of course, as Captain America with a “Super Pulisic headline — running through just how good he’s been in Serie A this season and comparing him to other strikers in the league.
On Sunday, he will lead Milan into a massive top-5 clash against his U.S. teammate Weston McKennie and Juventus, which sit just one point behind the Rossoneri in the table. It’s a massively important game for Milan, which missed out on European competition this season. If Pulisic can continue his sparkling form it would be yet another boost to his value at the club.
For the U.S., the task is to translate that over to the international stage.
“We are so happy when he’s scoring goals, giving assists and performing,” Pochettino said. “That is what we want. And now it is to help him to arrive to the World Cup in the best place.”
During a press conference in which the coach hammered the idea that no player’s spot was ensured, Pochettino had to crack a smile when he slipped up by talking about Pulisic arriving at next summer’s tournament in the same form.
“You say, ‘OK but Christian, you are talking about (it) is sure that (he) is going to be in the roster,” Pochettino said. “We all know that he is a player that is performing, and is a player that is really important for us. We cannot lie.”
Pulisic will meet his national team colleague Weston McKennie when Milan faces Juventus this weekend.Isabella Bonotto / AFP via Getty Images
As Pochettino’s U.S. team figures out exactly how it wants to play — whether it opts for the four-man or five-man back line — it will be vital that they find a way to put Pulisic in a place where he can thrive. Pulisic has said he prefers to play as a central playmaker, but he has not always been his most effective playing in that spot for the U.S.
To get Pulisic at his best, it’s important to find ways to get him in space, where he can use his pace and skill to run at defenders and create off the dribble. Pulisic has been effective playing on the left wing, where he can drift inside to his right foot to create goals. Pochettino has moved Pulisic to the right wing at times, preferring to play Tim Weah on the left.
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When the U.S. shifted to five in the back against Japan, Pulisic came underneath the striker into the pocket in what was essentially a 3-4-2-1. It risks taking him out of his most dangerous spot, but it’s a tradeoff that might work if Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest provide enough of an attacking threat on either side to open space up for Pulisic to exploit.
The next three windows in October, November and March will be about figuring out the ideal squad to compete in the World Cup. A big part of that is becoming more dangerous and efficient in the final third. Pulisic is the biggest piece to that equation.
If they can get it right, Pulisic will have been proved right about more than one thing this past summer.
“Once I’m back with the national team— I hope — once I’m back with the national team and can play again, score a goal and win a game, people will forget all about this quickly,” he said.
Goals with Milan have already been enough to mostly make people forget. If he can carry over his club form in his country’s colors, the panic of this past summer will fade away completely as the outlook for next summer’s World Cup grows brighter.
(Top photo: Logan Riely / USSF / Getty Images for USSF)
U.S. stuns France with 3 late goals in U-20 World Cup, clinches knockout round spot
By Paul Tenorio
Oct. 2, 2025
Powered by three late goals, the U.S. under-20 national team pulled off a stunning 3-0 win over France at the 2025 U-20 World Cup on Thursday.
Zavier Gozo, Brooklyn Raines and Marcos Zambrano scored goals after the 85th minute to lead the Americans to the top of their group at the tournament in Chile. The U.S. won its opening match 9-1 over New Caledonia on Monday.
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U.S. U-20 coach Marko Mitrovic summoned Gozo, Zambrano and Atlanta United’s Luke Brennan off the bench in the second half, and all three helped to change the match.
The U.S. and France had battled for much of the game and looked likely to settle for a scoreless draw, but the Americans broke through in the 85th minute when Real Salt Lake’s Gozo scored on a cross from Brennan to provide a 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later, Raines (Houston Dynamo) created a turnover with a press just over midfield, found Gozo and then continued his run, splitting France’s center backs and getting on to the Gozo pass to finish to the far post and double the lead. Four minutes after that, it was Zambrano (Real Salt Lake) who settled the outcome by putting home a rebound after Gozo rattled the crossbar with an attempted finish.
France had just two shots on goal on the night, a credit to the defensive effort from the U.S. that eventually allowed the Americans to break through in the late stages and get the win.
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Nine different players have scored for the U.S. through two matches, setting a new team record for most at the tournament. The previous record was eight, achieved at the 2023 U-20 World Cup in Argentina.
With the win, the U.S. improved to 2-0-1 in three meetings with France at the U-20 World Cup.
The U.S. will close out the group stage against South Africa on Sunday at 4 p.m. ET and can guarantee the top spot in the group with a win or draw. The game will air on FS2 and Telemundo.
(Photo: Javier Torres / AFP via Getty Images)
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