Pulisic and Robinson in doubt for the USA vs. Ecuador friendly

Concern in the United States National Team: Pulisic, Robinson, and Zendejas Doubtful for the Friendly against Ecuador

The technical staff of the United States National Team, led by coach Mauricio Pochettino, faces uncertainty ahead of Friday’s friendly against Ecuador. Christian Pulisic, Antonee Robinson, and Alejandro Zendejas are doubtful for the match due to physical problems.

“We have some injury problems with some players like Christian [Pulisic] who didn’t train today and Antonee Robinson, we need to assess tomorrow whether they will be available or not,” Pochettino said in a press conference.

Mauricio Pochettino

Regarding Zendejas, the coach added: “If it’s an injury issue, we don’t think Alex will be part of tomorrow’s match.”

• Pulisic, winner of the Serie A Player of the Month award.
• The United States advances to the quarterfinals of the U-20 World Cup after defeating Italy.

Pulisic, a key player for AC Milan, has had an excellent start to the season, even contributing an assist in the United States’ 2-0 victory over Japan last month. Zendejas, América’s winger, also stood out in that match, scoring the team’s first goal. The possible absence of Robinson highlights his gradual recovery after knee surgery in May. The player has been working to regain his best form.

“I still don’t feel 100%, like I did a year ago, before the injury, but I’m slowly improving”, Robinson mentioned on Wednesday.

Antonee Robinson

Pochettino emphasized that the competition for a place in the team for the World Cup remains intense.

“That list isn’t definitive… it’s really open. For everyone, it’s open. They need to perform. I promise you that no one is sure they will be on the 2026 World Cup list,” Pochettino stated.

Mauricio Pochettino

After the disappointing performance in the Concacaf Nations League, where the United States finished in fourth place, Pochettino has been experimenting with different lineups, obtaining varied results. The team has suffered four defeats in its last 10 matches, but reached the Gold Cup final in the summer. After the match against Ecuador, Pochettino’s team will close the FIFA date with another friendly against Australia on October 14. The United States has only four more friendlies scheduled before Pochettino calls up the players for the pre-World Cup concentration: against Paraguay and Uruguay in November, and two additional matches in March.