A World Cup roster announcement was made for the U.S. team under coach Mauricio Pochettino. He emphasized the importance of being included in a single roster and acknowledged the pain of being left off. Players were informed at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Friday, with selected players receiving WhatsApp messages followed by videos. Tim Ream described stopping after training to call his wife, while Christian Pulisic said he became excited when the message appeared. Players from the provisional roster who were not selected received a simple email without explanations. Pochettino said he avoided calling players who missed out to prevent confusing them, noting that they already care deeply and do not want discouraging words.
"The U.S. coach said he kept both emotions in mind when informing players they had - or had not - made the roster for next month's tournament, a roster that was formally announced Tuesday during a sun-splashed, made-for-TV rally in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, about 13 miles from where July's World Cup final will be played."
"So when Pochettino decided which 26 men would be on his team this summer, each of them got a WhatsApp message, followed by a video, sent out at 1 p.m. Eastern Time Friday. Defender Tim Ream said he received the message as he walked to his car after training with his club team in Charlotte, N.C."
"The 29 players from the provisional roster who didn't make the cut? They each got a simple email. And no explanation. "I know it is so painful. It was so painful for me," Pochettino said. "When I didn't make the roster, I didn't want my coach to call me," he added."
""Because we care a lot, we don't want to say nothing to confuse the player. A player who didn't make the roster, they don't want to hear me say, 'Oh [too bad].'""
Read at Los Angeles Times
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]