The USMNT coach challenges players in his MLS-heavy January camp squad to show why they deserve to be in the player pool
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Pochettino discusses January campBig opportunity for MLS-based playersUSMNT to face Venezuela on SaturdayGet the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?
Ahead of his first January camp, USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino emphasized that this is a key opportunity for MLS-based players to make the most of their chance.
"We take it very seriously, even if it's not on the FIFA calendar," Pochettino said Friday's ahead of the U.S.'s game against Venezuela. "I think it's important for us because I think we want to add players to compete for a position on the national team."
The U.S. men's national team is currently gathered for the annual January camp, which has historically been centered around MLS players. This year is no different, with 20 of the 21 players in camp representing MLS clubs. For those players, it's a chance to get in front of the USMNT coaching staff and make an impression while also building fitness ahead of the start of the club season.
Since arriving with the USMNT, Pochettino has stressed that playing in MLS will not disqualify any player from the national team. And, as he prepares to lead a large MLS-based group into the January camp friendlies against Venezuela and Costa Rica, he says the annual camp has been valuable for him to get to know some of the players that could end up being part of his player pool going forward.
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"We want them to be confident and to show real quality because, for us, it is not important from where they came from. For us, it's important how they are going to perform here with us," Pochettino said. "We have the chance to have this group of players, only one player that came from Argentina, Matko [Miljevic], but the rest playing here in MLS is fantastic. We are really, really happy and the message is 'Please show me that you players playing here in MLS can compete with players that are competing in Europe.' "
He added: "The quality that we have in the young players, they need to feel that they can compete and they can reach the level that's required in the national team, and we are only trying to help them to find their best. Talking about the level, we are so happy with the level that they've shown. Now to compete is different, because I think we didn't have too much time to put it all in place together, but I think Venezuela is going to be in the same place as us and Costa Rica. The most important is, not only in a collective way but as an individual concept, they need to show me that there's a possibility to add them in the future."
AFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
January camp is often a grueling experience for players, who arrived for USMNT duty fresh off an MLS offseason. Pochettino alluded to that on Friday, saying a substantial portion of the training sessions have been fitness-based before the team can even really get into tactics. That portion of the camp has opened up in recent days, with Pochettino saying he was particularly impressed with the quality on display during Friday's session.
Just as much as the actual games against Venezuela and Costa Rica, Pochettino is putting weight on the training sessions and how players have performed.
"I think it's important, training first, and how they perform in training to relate to the competition," he said. "It's good to see how they compete, and then at the moment that we will compete, after these two games, we have a better idea, a more clear idea, about the capacity of these young players.
"It's good to have this opportunity. It's amazing. We try to give them the opportunity, but it's also for them to use this opportunity to show that they can compete with the rest of the players that are in different countries."
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR THE USMNT?
Following the friendlies against Venezuela and Costa Rica, all eyes will turn towards the CONCACAF Nations League, a competition the team has won three times running. The USMNT will face Panama in the semifinal on March 20.