Overview
- Landon Donovan’s remarks on Fox Sports’ UEFA Nations League final broadcast on June 9 drew criticism for targeting players who opted out of the Gold Cup.
- Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah and Antonee Robinson asked coach Mauricio Pochettino to leave them off the Gold Cup roster after season-long 50-game schedules, citing fatigue.
- Weston McKennie described Donovan’s comments as sad and defended Pulisic’s need to rest after a demanding club season, emphasizing the honor of national team duty.
- Mark Pulisic posted a ChatGPT summary of Donovan’s 2012-13 sabbatical on Instagram to challenge the criticism, a post liked by his son.
- The USMNT’s 2-1 loss to Turkey on June 7 intensified scrutiny over Mauricio Pochettino’s handling of player workload and team identity ahead of the cohosted World Cup.