Here's the video Mauricio Pochettino sent players on his USMNT World Cup roster

· Yahoo Sports

On Friday, May 23 at 1 p.m. ET, a U.S. men's national team administrator created a WhatsApp group chat. In that chat, he added 26 players.

Visit biznow.biz for more information.

Then he sent a video from USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino to all 26 — the group that the coach had selected to make up his 2026 World Cup roster.

The video was short but meaningful.

"Guys, if you're watching this video, it's because you are in," Pochettino said.

"I am so excited to communicate that you are going to be on the roster for World Cup 2026, in the World Cup that we are going to host. Enjoy guys and see you in New York."

All 26 players responded with videos of their own, which U.S. Soccer also featured in its social media post.

Four days after Pochettino sent his video, the USMNT officially named its 26-player World Cup roster during an event in New York City.

Pochettino has come under some criticism for his method of informing players of their World Cup roster status.

The Argentine chose to send an email to those who missed out, rather than calling them. He defended his methods during a press conference after naming his roster on Tuesday.

"When I was a player, when I didn't make the roster I didn't want my coach to call me," Pochettino said. "The players who didn't make the roster, they don't want to hear me say I apologize."

He added: "I understand the player — they didn't make the roster, they didn't want to hear me, to say, I apologize. I care. Do you know why I care? Because during two weeks, I didn't sleep and today, I still cannot enjoy the 26 guys in front of me because I am thinking about the players that are out."

The biggest stories, every morning. Stay up-to-date on all the key sports developments by subscribing to USA TODAY Sports' newsletter.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Watch Mauricio Pochettino video for USMNT World Cup roster

Read at source