While the USMNT’s World Cup door is open, two big names aim to run through it

The theme of the day Wednesday at the U.S. men’s soccer team’s training camp was players who haven’t been there for a while and are now back.

In particular, striker Folarin Balogun and winger Álejandro Zendejas. Both are big-time names, the former with France’s Monaco and the latter a multiple trophy winner with Mexican juggernaut Club América.

They each have history with the U.S. program, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen them. Zendejas hasn’t earned a cap since last November, in part because of his club schedule and in part because U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino preferred other players. Balogun has suffered injuries since his last appearance, last September, coincidentally the last game before Pochettino debuted.

Now their waits are over, and with that comes a major opportunity. Pochettino has said he views this month as the final chance to bring in new players, with eight games total left before the World Cup. The first two are Saturday vs. South Korea in Harrison, N.J. (5 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62) and Tuesday vs. Japan in Columbus, Ohio (7:30 p.m., TNT, Telemundo 62).

“It was important for me to be back with the team,” said Balogun, who has five goals in 17 U.S. games so far, and scored his 13th for Monaco last weekend. “It’s been a while — it’s been almost a year since I’ve last been with the team. So I was really happy.”

What does he think of Pochettino so far, in his first camp working with the manager?

“First impressions of Mauricio and his staff, they’ve been really good for me,” Balogun said. “They’ve embraced me, made me feel welcome. And [from] the feedback I’ve got from the other players and staff, they’re great people, and everyone’s delighted to have them here. So it’s all good.”

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In turn, the 24-year-old, born in New York City and raised in London, embraces Pochettino’s demand for a strong spirit of competition to make the World Cup team.

“With Mauricio coming in, the objective was clear that he wanted to bring the group forward,” Balogun said. “As players there’s no surprise for us to be competing for places and positions … Everyone wants to make an impression, and I think that’s just natural with such a big competition coming in 10 months. It’s important to leave your mark.”

It won’t be hard for Balogun to keep his place with the national team if he plays well. He was at the top of the U.S. striker depth chart before his injuries, and his talent remains in the highest tier with Ricardo Pepi and Josh Sargent.

Zendejas is a different story. The U.S. has a lot of players in his wide attacking role, and at least three are ahead of him: Christian Pulisic, Malik Tillman, and Tim Weah.

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“There’s a lot of great players who have been coming and going through camps, a lot of players also deserve to be here,” Zendejas said as he sat next to Balogun for a news conference. “[Pochettino] definitely let us know that there’s a bunch of people that do deserve to be here as well, and that he wants to be able to see everyone so that we each fairly get a chance. But then at the end of the day, it all depends on us and how we respond to those opportunities that are given to us.”

Though Zendejas has 43 goals, 27 assists, and three Liga MX titles with Club América, his absence from the national team has mostly been Pochettino’s choice. The only exception was this summer’s Gold Cup squad, when América had a qualifying playoff for the Club World Cup at the start of the summer and Zendejas had to keep the time clear.

América ended up losing that playoff, which freed Zendejas’ schedule. But Pochettino wanted a squad in for the entire run instead of making late additions. (Or subtractions, which is why Weah, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, and Pulisic didn’t play the early-summer friendlies before the Club World Cup started.)

“No frustration,” Zendejas said of not being on the summer squad. “Everything happens at its own timing. I’ve said in past interviews, that’s a decision [by Pochettino] that I have to respect, and that just makes me want to work even harder, you know? Have a better season, and then along the way get these opportunities that I’m getting now.”

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Now that he’s back in, he admitted it’s a moment he’d “been waiting for.”

“It’s an opportunity that was given to me, and I’m very grateful for it,” said the 27-year-old, who was born in Juárez, Mexico, and raised across the border in El Paso, Texas. “I think I’ve had a very good year, and you can see the work I’m doing. So just continue on that pathway, and continue with that same enthusiasm in this week and a half that I’ll be with [Pochettino] and the team.”

U.S. Soccer announced Wednesday that Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan has been added to the squad, bringing the total roster to 24 players.

Roldan, 30, is a veteran of the Sounders and the national team, though he hasn’t played for his country since the 2023 Gold Cup. In 2022, he made the World Cup team but did not see the field in a game.

In Seattle, Roldan has spent a decade as a stalwart for one of MLS’s most successful clubs. He has two MLS Cup titles, and in 2022 helped the Sounders become the first American team since 2000 to win the Concacaf Champions League (as it was then called). This year, he captained Seattle to the Leagues Cup title, including a 3-0 rout of Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami in the final.

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