Pochettino says US mindset must change, appearing to cite Pulisic absence from 2025 Gold Cup

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino vowed to change the attitude and habits of the American national team as he starts a second term, appearing to refer to star Christian Pulisic's decision to skip the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

“It was difficult to make the roster for the Gold Cup one year before because the mindset was different,” Pochettino said Monday during an online question-and-answer session with reporters. “You say, 'If I play, I have not holidays. I cannot arrive fresh for the World Cup.' ... You know now that is bull----.”

Pochettino said his goal “is to change this type of idea that are not right.”

Pulisic, the top American player, took himself out of consideration for the 2025 Gold Cup citing the need to rest after his season with AC Milan and the hope to be fresh for the 2026 World Cup. He didn't score in four World Cup appearances this year, missing one group-stage match because of a calf injury and leaving the Americans’ round of 16 loss to Belgium on July 6 after fracturing his right tibia and fibula.

He had 10 goals in his first 15 matches for AC Milan last season but went scoreless in 19 club games after Dec. 28. He has been an unused substitute in AC Milan’s first three games this season.

Pochettino took over from Gregg Berhalter in the fall of 2024 and was given a four-year contract in a deal announced last month.

Pochettino plans to announce his roster on Sept. 17 for the first games of his second term, a double window that includes friendlies against Peru (Sept. 26 in Orlando, Florida), Chile (Sept. 29 in St. Louis), Mexico (Oct. 3 in Glendale, Arizona) and Canada (Oct. 6 in St. Paul, Minnesota). In their first competitive matches since the World Cup, the Americans play CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals in November.

“A new process, new project, new rules, new principles,” he said, speaking from London. “I think that the headline needs to be that (it) is a new start, a fresh start. And I think we need to change habits.”

“We need to create a group of players that (are) really being professional and compete in the way that we expect that they need to compete,” he added.

Players dropped from the World Cup roster, such as midfielders Diego Luna, Tanner Tessmann and Aidan Morris, could return. Young players such as 16-year-old Philadelphia midfielder Cavan Sullivan could be included for possible debuts.

Some, such as 19-year-old Crystal Palace winger Zavier Gozo, could be left off to allow them time to integrate with new clubs following summer transfers. Pochettino also expressed uncertainty about midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and defender Max Arfsten, who transferred to Middlesbrough.

Pochettino said players could be given national team debuts before they focus on the under-23 team, which will be coached by former U.S. defender Steve Cherundolo heading toward the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. He cited a “need to be careful” with youngsters.

“You need to (have) confidence. You need to have the trust in yourself and belief that you can perform and do well,” he said. “Sometimes if you play well and you are 17, 16 or 18 and you play well and people start to talk, about you are (Lionel) Messi or you are a big star in the world because you do some good things. If after you are confused and you don’t manage well, that can be dangerous for your career and that is what we don’t want.

“You only are entitled to talk a little bit out of order if you are Messi, if you win. If you won, you can talk with certain arrogance."

Among the attitudes Pochettino wants to change are those of coaches who would rather have their young players stay with clubs during international breaks.

“Sometimes the coaches say no. I have a 17-year-old guy that play in the MLS but when the (under) 19 national team called, say no because they need to rest," Pochettino said. “If (you are) 17, you need to rest, aye yai, yai. We have a big problem.”

Augsburg defender Noahkai Banks still hasn’t decided whether to play for the U.S. or Germany.

“Noki is still in the same situation that (he) was before the World Cup,” Pochettino said. “We are in contact with all the potential duel nationals. I think it’s important for us to see. That is the connection, the human connection, that is so important.”

Pochettino intends to telephone striker Folarin Balogun, whose proposed transfer from Monaco to Everton came apart last week.

“I want to know from him what happened but always offering our support,” he said. “He’s an important player for us, was an important player in the World Cup and (I) hope that he can find being in Monaco, in another place, his best place to perform."

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

FILE - United States' Christian Pulisic plays during the World Cup round of 16 soccer match between the United States and Belgium in Seattle, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

FILE - United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino walks off the field after the United States lost a World Cup round of 16 soccer match against Belgium in Seattle, July 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr, File)

HOUSTON (AP) — A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer appeared to intentionally drive a vehicle into a man in Houston, breaking his leg, a Texas prosecutor said, warning an investigation by his office could result in criminal charges.

Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, underwent surgery for a broken leg after he was hit by a car Saturday, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights organization that is helping the man's family.

Parra Hernandez remains in ICE custody at a hospital and still needs ankle surgery, his lawyer, Kim Bruno, said during a news conference Wednesday.

The encounter has set off new criticism over immigration enforcement in Houston, where local prosecutors are also investigating a July fatal shooting by a federal immigration officer.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, a Democrat, expressed concern Tuesday over surveillance footage that shows Parra Hernandez and another person jumping out of a white truck and running as a dark SUV pursues them. A vehicle strikes Parra Hernandez, who is seen on the ground seconds later.

“The most obvious criminal charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” Teare told FOX 26 Houston. “Meaning the car was used as a deadly weapon. And it certainly is what appears to have happened, based on the surveillance footage.”

Allegations that officers intentionally struck Parra Hernandez are “reckless” and “false,” ICE said in a statement. Parra Hernandez had been in a vehicle with the target of an enforcement operation, and when officers tried to stop the car, the two men fled on foot, the agency said.

He “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck,” ICE said.

Espinosa flatly denied this claim during the news conference Wednesday, citing surveillance video.

The footage shows a man running from the white truck as a black SUV approaches him from behind. The video does not show the car hitting the man — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it shows the SUV inches from the man before stopping. After, the man is on the ground behind the car.

Attorneys and relatives of others who were arrested by ICE during the operation Saturday denied during the news conference that the man ICE named as the target of its operation — Jose Mendoza-Cervantes — was even in the white van, saying they didn’t know anyone of that name.

Espinosa said Parra Hernandez comes from Mexico and has been in the U.S. for 34 years. He declined to share Parra Hernandez’s status, but said he is living in the U.S. without authorization.

He said two ICE officers were in the room when he visited Parra Hernandez at the hospital.

“He already had a surgery for the injury under his knee and now we’re waiting for swelling to go down in his ankle to be able to have a reconstructive surgery on his ankle,” Espinosa said.

He remained in ICE custody Wednesday, Espinosa said.

Teare said ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have not cooperated with his office during its investigation.

In July, Teare said DHS also ignored his request for information after an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. The shooting was one of at least 10 deaths involving encounters with immigration officers since the start of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Wilder is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Rodolfo Parra, brother of Miguel Parra-Hernandez, speaks to the media Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, alongside Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, near the scene on Clay Road near Texas 6 in Houston where Parra-Hernandez was struck by ICE agents after running from an SUV pursuing another man. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Harris County Sheriff deputies work the scene after a man was struck by an ICE agent's vehicle during an immigration enforcement in northwest Houston, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. 9Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)

Sarah Fischer, a local artist who collaborates with Fiel to provide emergency portraiture, holds her artwork of Miguel Parra-Hernandez, during a press conference Monday, Oct. 12, 2026, near the scene on Clay Road near Texas 6 in Houston where Parra-Hernandez was struck by ICE agents after running from an SUV pursuing another man. (Jill Karnicki/Houston Chronicle via AP)

People watch as Harris County Sheriff deputies work the scene near two vehicles involved after a man was struck by an ICE agent's vehicle during an immigration enforcement operation in northwest Houston, Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026. 9Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via AP)