NEW YORK — U.S. Men’s National Team manager Mauricio Pochettino defended his decision to alert players of his World Cup roster decisions with a message rather than a phone call.
The players who made the World Cup received a video of Pochettino early Friday afternoon in a WhatsApp group, later followed by an email. The players who didn’t make it just got an email.
“It wasn’t a moment to inspire them,” Pochettino said of the video at Tuesday’s roster reveal event in New York City. “It was a moment to communicate the roster.”
As for the players who did not make the team, Pochettino said “the way that we communicate is not changing because it’s an official competition.” He said he’s thinking about the players who didn’t make the roster, even as he celebrates with his chosen 26, but said they don’t want to hear from him right now. “That is bullshit,” he said.
Former USMNT player and ESPN personality Herculez Gomez called the decision to tell people they didn’t make the team via email “diabolical if true.”
