USMNT's Pochettino on Pulisic spat: 'Nothing to talk about'

United States men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino said Tuesday that he hasn't spoken to Christian Pulisic since the star attacker opted out of playing in this summer's Concacaf Gold Cup, stating that "we need to look forward."

Pulisic cited fatigue, and the need to heal up from some nagging injuries, as reasons for not playing in the Gold Cup. The backlash to his decision was intense, with several former USMNT players, including Landon Donovan and Tim Howard questioning Pulisic's commitment to the team.

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Pulisic defended himself by going on the "Call It What You Want" podcast saying that questioning his commitment was "way out of line." But he also said that he had offered to play in two pre-Gold Cup friendlies, only for Pochettino to turn him down. That drew a response from Pochettino saying he was the one to make decisions about who played, adding, "I am not a mannequin."

Pulisic was named to Pochettino's roster on Tuesday, ahead of friendly matches against South Korea on Sept. 6 and Japan three days later. The U.S. coach said he hadn't spoken with the AC Milan forward since the Gold Cup.

"No, we didn't talk with Christian," Pochettino said on a conference call with reporters. "I think nothing to talk [about]. I think everything is behind us, all that happened in [the] summer, and I think now we need to look forward.

"I think we have a plan for every single player, and the plan for Christian now is to call [him up], and to see him in this camp and of course hope that he arrives in a good condition, fresh and in good position with Milan, with his team and ready to compete. That is the most important thing."

While Pulisic is back in the fold, the same can't be said of Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.

Some absentees from the latest roster, like Fulham's Antonee Robinson and PSV Eindhoven's Ricardo Pepi, have just returned from injury layoffs. Others, like Borussia Mönchengladbach's Gio Reyna and New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Turner, recently switched clubs.

But McKennie didn't fall into either of those categories, leaving Pochettino to defend his decision.

The Argentine coach explained that he knows the player well, and wanted McKennie -- who has struggled for minutes in preseason and in last weekend's Serie A opener -- to be "more settled in his club." He elaborated by saying McKennie's participation in the club World Cup with Juventus this summer was another factor in his decision, noting that Pulisic didn't play in the competition, and was thus more rested.

"Christian wasn't involved [in the Club World Cup]. That is a massive difference," Pochettino said. "I think Weston need time to prepare himself with the team and it's important to be with his team fighting for a place.

"He didn't play last weekend. But that is not why we didn't call [him] but only to give him the possibility ... to fight for a place to be every week on the pitch competing because that is going to put him in his best form.

"Because we know him really well and we know his talent, we wanted to provide him the possibility."