The USMNT legend sat down with GOAL at TST 2025 to discuss Pulisic's Gold Cup absence and more
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Altidore speaks exclusively about the USMNTGives opinion on Pulisic's Gold Cup absenceShares excitement for next calendar year of soccerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
CARY, N.C. – U.S. men's national team legend Jozy Altidore said he has no issue with Christian Pulisic requesting not to be a part of the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup roster. Rather, the 35-year-old is excited to see the group that there for the tournament, ahead of what he describes as a "massive opportunity" for the national team program.
Speaking at The Soccer Tournament 2025, where he is coaching AFC Bournemouth, Altidore reflected on the AC Milan star’s absence and what it could mean for the USMNT heading into the continental competition.
"Listen, this is an opportunity for the team," Altidore told GOAL. "No one player replaces Christian, and if he needed the time off, he needed the time off. This is a chance for the group to come together and really step up with some big absences."
Altidore also shared his excitement about the next year of the footballing calendar for the country. Beginning in June 2025, the CONCACAF Gold Cup and FIFA Club World Cup will both be held in the U.S., and come next summer, the FIFA World Cup will follow in 2026, with matches played in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
"It’s a massive opportunity for soccer in this country, and a chance at a real rebirth for the game here. I’m excited, fans are excited, and the players are excited," he said. "It’s a real opportunity and I’m looking forward to it."
AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE
The U.S. roster for the Gold Cup this summer will feature plenty of new faces, amid an injury crisis, along with a handful of regulars being unavailable. In addition to Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Gio Reyna are unavailable due to the Club World Cup, while teammate of Pulisic's, Yunus Musah, is absent due to "personal reasons."
In the striker position, the U.S. is particularly going to be tested in the competition. Both Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun are missing out due to injury, and after a tough performance in the March Nations League, Josh Sargent was left out of the squad this summer.
An area where Altidore excelled for the USMNT for over a decade, he believes it's a wide-open race at the moment – but with the group available for Mauricio Pochettino this summer, it's all about opportunity. MLS strikers Patrick Agyemang and Brian White are joined by uncapped 20-year-old prospect Damion Downs, Coventry's Haji Wright and FC Utrecht's Paxten Aaronson.
"The striker position is an interesting one," Altidore said. "It’s hard and not easy to play. There is a group of talented guys there, and any one of them could emerge. I’m looking forward to seeing them all."WHAT ALTIDORE SAID ABOUT TST
Altidore was offered the coaching role with Bournemouth at the 7v7 tournament in North Carolina, thanks to U.S. international Tyler Adams – who plays for the senior team in England – and co-owner Michael B. Jordan, via a personal training initiative they collaborated on.
"The conversation stemmed from all of us at Sogility – a soccer tech training facility – and so Bournemouth was interested in partnering with businesses that are trying to push the envelope in soccer, and we started discussing how we could work together on this," Altidore explained. "There were some conversations with Michael's team, that's who I got in touch with originally, and he's getting more and more into soccer, so there was a lot of synergy there. Our groups are partnered on a couple of other ventures, so that just made a lot of sense."
The Soccer TournamentWHAT NEXT?
The USMNT begins their June slate of matches with an international friendly against Turkey on Saturday as part of their preparation for the Gold Cup.
Altidore, meanwhile, will look to lead Bournemouth out of the Group Stage at TST into the knockouts as they hunt for the $1M prize in the 7v7 competition.
