This isn't necessarily Reyna's last chance to make the World Cup roster, but it is getting late. He's featured just once under Pochettino and did little to impress. Now, handed another lifeline, can Reyna deliver?
Per usual, there are a variety of reasons for absences. Several players, such as Antonee Robinson, Tim Weah and Cameron Carter-Vickers, are out injured. Others, such as Pulisic, Johnny Cardoso and Malik Tillman are just getting back from injury.
Others were more surprising. Weston McKennie, Pochettino says, will stay with Juventus to adjust to life under Luciano Spaletti, his newest coach on the club level. Perhaps the most notable absence, though, is Chris Richards, who was left out of the squad days after Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner took aim at the USMNT for playing the centerback last month despite an ongoing calf issue.
Glasner, it should be noted, proceeded to play Richards 90 minutes the very next day. Pochettino, meanwhile, was left frustrated by the coach's comments, particularly as a coach who - with experience at Tottenham, PSG and Chelseas - used to be in his shoes on the club level.
Palace weren't the only club that expressed frustrations, though, as Milan also reportedly reached out to US Soccer about Pulisic's status following his hamstring injury last camp. Pulisic, who was the subject of much controversy over the summer when he decided to skip the Gold Cup, has reportedly resumed training and is expected to return to Milan's squad for Saturday's Serie A trip to Parma.
"This is to provide him the possibility to recover 100-percent and be full and be ready to play after international duty with his team," Pochettino said of the decision to allow Pulisic to stay with Milan. "That is common sense. We never risk players. He played against Australia because he felt really good and because all of the assessment from our doctors and medical staff were right - and the player agreed with us.
"He didn't play the first game against Ecuador because he came into the game with a problem that he made, again, with his club in Italy. That is why. We care about him. But that can happen when you play game. There is always a risk when you play."
Regarding the protests from Crystal Palace and Milan over conflicts between club and county responsibilities, Pochettino has a clear point of view, saying, "they are not right to complain."
"People say, 'It's a friendly game', but no, that is wrong," Pochettino said. "We are not playing friendly games. We are playing games that prepare our journey to the World Cup. If not, we'd just play the Under-20s, because why play games? It's something that makes me very, very sad because I think sometimes people don't understand, or maybe they don't think about what it means to have the responsibility to represent a country or a national team, in this case, the USA.
"I was in different clubs for more than 15 years working and I was always respectful of the national team, accepting the rules. I think the players are the most important. And the players know how we act, and how we respect, and they respect that because we are clear in our communication. I think in these situations, Milan or Palace, they are not right to complain. Because I think as a coaching staff we care about the player. We are the first to care, and we've never made a player play with some doubt. Never. Never."