Poch: Pulisic can't dictate which games he plays

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- United States men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino said his players "cannot dictate the plan," as he explained why he rejected star winger Christian Pulisic's offer to play in a pair of friendlies ahead of the Concacaf Gold Cup but not the tournament itself.

"Players need to listen and to stick with our plan," he told reporters Saturday. "They cannot dictate the plan.

"The most important thing is that we explain why we decided not to include him in the two friendly games. And then if you have some problems, no, that is not my problem to understand.

"When I signed my contract in the federation, I am the head coach. I am not a mannequin."

Earlier in the week, Pulisic told the CBS Sports podcast "Call It What You Want" that he needed a rest after playing about 120 matches over the past two years for AC Milan and the national team but also wanted to play in two friendlies ahead of the Gold Cup. He said that he respected Pochettino's decision to exclude him but "didn't understand it."

"It's true that he wanted to come to be involved in the two friendly games ... [but] for us, the Gold Cup is an important tournament," Pochettino responded on the eve of the USMNT's Gold Cup opener against Trinidad and Tobago at San Jose's PayPal Park.

"Yes, it was my decision, it was our decision not to include [Pulisic] in the two friendly games, and that's it.

"It was in our [original] plan to bring him to play in not only the two games, the friendly games, [but] the Gold Cup."

The USMNT lost the friendlies, 2-1 to Turkey and 4-0 to Switzerland, and were dealt their first four-game losing streak since 2007.

Still, the U.S. coach reiterated that he believes he maintains a good connection with Pulisic and other players on his roster.

"I love to be in communication with my players," he said. "I love to communicate, but at the same time I want to keep that all the players feel the same respect from the coaching staff and for myself, if someone doesn't like this, OK.

In addition to Pulisic, the U.S. is without a number of other mainstays for the Gold Cup, the team's last competitive games before co-hosting next year's World Cup. Weston McKennie, Timothy Weah, Giovanni Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Yunus Musah and Sergiño Dest will miss the tournament due to a combination of injury and Club World Cup participation.

The team's 2022 World Cup captain Tyler Adams is a doubt for Sunday's Gold Cup opener after missing the loss to Switzerland with a foot issue.

"At the moment, today he was training a little bit, and he's close to be available again. I hope that he can be available tomorrow and help the team," Pochettino said.

Pochettino also confirmed that fellow midfielder Johnny Cardoso is battling illness

"It's true that today, like we saw, Johnny was sick and he cannot train and [we'll] see tomorrow if he can be involved or not."

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.