Mauricio Pochettino’s first U.S. men’s soccer team roster as manager has a lot of Philly-area flavor

For his first time picking a U.S. men’s soccer team roster, new manager Mauricio Pochettino didn’t stray too far from players who were already well-established before he arrived.

That may or may not help shake those players out of the complacency they showed in the games that led to former manager Gregg Berhalter’s dismissal and last month’s contests under interim manager Mikey Varas. But it does mean that four men with roots in the Philadelphia area are part of Pochettino’s 25-man squad for two friendlies this month.

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The Americans will host Panama in Austin, Texas on Oct. 12 (9 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62, Universo, Max, Peacock), then visit perennial rival Mexico in Guadalajara on Oct. 15 (9:30 p.m., TNT, Max, Spanish coverage TBA). The latter game will be the Americans’ first in Mexico since 2012, a 1-0 win at Mexico City’s famed Estadio Azteca that remains the U.S.’ only win on El Tri’s turf.

After those games, Pochettino and the U.S. will prepare for his first games at the helm in an official competition next month in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. The opponent will be set by group stage games in the tournament this month, with the U.S. playing at that team on Nov. 14 and hosting in St. Louis on Nov. 18.

The quartet includes Medford’s Brenden Aaronson, Downingtown’s Zack Steffen, Media’s Auston Trusty, and Bear, Del.’s Mark McKenzie. They’ve all been on many U.S. squads before, but it hasn’t often happened that all four have been on the same roster.

Along with being locals, all four grew up in the Union’s youth academy, and all but Steffen played for the club in Major League Soccer.

Aaronson has enjoyed a strong start to his return to England’s Leeds United after a season away on loan at Germany’s Union Berlin. The 23-year-old attacking midfielder has two goals and an assist in nine games for a club seeking to earn promotion back to the Premier League from the second-tier Championship.

Along the way, he has won back the faith of many Leeds fans who soured on him during his first season there, in 2022-23, and weren’t thrilled that he left – though the move was eminently sensible – last season after the club was relegated from the top tier of English soccer.

“He looks very professional, his standards are very high, he’s a player that always gives the best to the team,” Pochettino said in a news conference Wednesday. “Excellent work ethic, and also the quality to score and run in behind the defensive line, also to play in half-spaces in between he lines. I think he can provide different alternatives [in] the game.”

Aaronson’s positional versatility is an asset. He can play as an attacking midfielder, in a deeper central role, or on either wing. Pochettino said he hopes to help Aaronson settle in at one role and stay there for a while.

“He’s young, and it’s true that he’s playing in too many different positions,” Pochettino said. “And maybe now it’s time for him to find his best position. ... We need to help him to discover where is his real position, and [where] he’s going to perform at his best, and we are going to be there to try to help.”

McKenzie, Aaronson’s old Union teammate, joined French Ligue 1 club Toulouse this summer from Belgium’s Genk, the team that bought him from the Union in early 2021 for $6 million. Toulouse paid $3.2 million for the 25-year-old centerback.

He has played in four of Les Violets’ six games this season, and while three have been losses, they’ve all been to some of Ligue 1’s top teams.

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Steffen returned to MLS this year after 4½ years abroad, contracted to England’s Manchester City but often out on loan elsewhere. The move raised questions about the 29-year-old goalkeeper’s national team future, but two factors have answered those questions in his favor.

One is his good play with the Colorado Rapids, who stand fourth place in the Western Conference and finished third in this season’s Leagues Cup (beating the Union in the third-place game). The other is the subpar state of the rest of the U.S. goalkeeper pool.

Incumbent starter Matt Turner hasn’t played for the English Premier League’s Nottingham Forest at all this season, and chief backup Ethan Horvath has allowed 10 goals in four games for English second-division club Cardiff City. Columbus Crew starter Patrick Schulte, who played on the U.S. Olympic team this summer, is third in line but just 23 years old.

» READ MORE: Downingtown’s Zack Steffen opens up about why he returned to MLS

Those factors were likely involved in Steffen earning his first call-up since March 2023. He hasn’t played for the U.S. since a March 2022 loss at Costa Rica in the last game of qualifying for that year’s FIFA World Cup.

“He deserves the opportunity to be with us,” Pochettino said. “I think it’s a good opportunity to see him and analyze.”

Trusty joined Scotland’s Celtic, one of the country’s traditional powers, this summer for $7.8 million. He has been an intermittent starter for the 54-time Scottish champions, which once again are dominating the league this season.

But the club has fallen from its past heights in Europe, as shown by a 7-1 loss at Germany’s Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday. Trusty played the entire game.

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Six regular players are sidelined by injuries at the moment: defensive midfielder Tyler Adams, central midfielder Luca de la Torre, attacking midfielder Gio Reyna, centerbacks Chris Richards and Cameron Carter-Vickers, and right back Sergiño Dest.

One notable absence that seems to have been by Pochettino’s choice is striker Brandon Vazquez. Though he plays at Mexico’s Monterrey, not in Europe, he has been a consistent scorer there, and brings size and a physical presence that other American strikers don’t.

The strikers on this roster are incumbents Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, and Josh Sargent. All have gotten off to good starts with their European clubs this season, and we’ll see if that form translates to the national team.

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Area locals in italics