Former United States men’s national team soccer star Herculez Gomez has called out current head coach Mauricio Pochettino over how he informed the players of his 26-man squad for the World Cup. A report from The Athletic emerged in light of the roster reveal on May 26 that the 55 players that were included on the USMNT’s preliminary roster were informed via an email from Pochettino over whether they would be part of the team competing for World Cup glory on home soil. USMNT head coach Pochettino has made his selections for the World CupGettySome notable omissions included that of attacking midfielder Diego Luna and, to a slightly lesser degree, his Real Salt Lake teammate Zavier Gozo. Tanner Tessman was also a shock absentee.When the report surfaced that the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur manager had sent an email, Gomez – who was part of the USMNT program from 2007-2013 – called it ‘diabolical.’Now a studio analyst for ESPN, Gomez further unleashed on Pochettino on the Fútbol Americas show on Tuesday, branding the whole thing as ‘wrong’, especially as it pertains to Luna’s omission in particular. “It’s inexcusable. For [Diego Luna] to be one of the top three most capped players under Mauricio Pochettino, and to find out via email, that’s just wrong,” Gomez said. “A player that U.S. Soccer leaned on, in terms of mentality and playing time. And you highlight him as a player and I quote ‘he has balls’ because he played with a broken nose. “You use him in World Cup commercials where he’s playing in a World Cup final. You use him in sporting brands commercials. You use him to highlight your league [MLS] and the national teams tied to it. That is wrong.”Gomez then opened up on his experience after he missed out on the opportunity to be part of the roster that competed at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil under Jurgen Klinsmann. “I got a 2-and-a-half minute voicemail from Jurgen Klinsmann thanking me for helping them get to the World Cup, but I won’t be going,” he recalled. “I hadn’t played for the national team in over a year. My knee was done. He felt the need – the professionalism – to let me know. It meant the world to me. … “So when I read that they [the players] were informed that they weren’t going via email. This may be just a stop-for-money for Pochettino and that’s maybe the way he’s treating it. … Diego Luna was one of the biggest names omitted from Pochettino’s USMNT World Cup squadGettyGomez called out Pochettino for notifying the players via emailGetty“But to these players, you’re ending a dream, you’re ending something they’ve been working for their whole life, with an email, and they deserve more than that.”Gomez previously posted on X: “According to this report, players were informed via email that their World Cup dreams were over.“This is diabolical if true.“Face your players and give them the respect they deserve. Even those who made the team are owed more than just an email. #USMNT.”Pochettino fires back In his Tuesday press conference, Pochettino was forced to address the reasoning as to why he sent an email, as opposed to calling up his players individually to let them know. “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.”“What are you going to say? Am I going to lie?” he said about what he would say if a player asked why he wasn’t selected. “‘You are not in the roster because I believe that another teammate is today, in that period, is a better option’. I don’t say that is better player and you cannot make the roster in the future.”“I think that is not the way. And come on, how I grow up in my country, football is about to do everything to try to be in the roster,” Pochettino added. Pochettino defended himself when addressing why he sent an emailAFP“If I don’t make the roster, I need to think in like now, until the one day before, things can happen. They need to be ready because maybe we can call. That is the sport. That is football. That is soccer, and we cannot change the rules.”“I understand the player, that didn’t make the roster, they don’t want to hear me say, ‘Oh, apologise, oh, whatever.’ I care. Do you know why I care? Because during [the last] two weeks I didn’t sleep.“And today, still I cannot enjoy the 26 guys that are in front of me, because I am thinking of players that are out… If I call, it’s about myself. I say, ‘Oh, I call, I am very human about calling and then giving an explanation.’ Come on, that is b*******.”View Tweet: https://t.co/N3IO3ru1FyThe players that were selected to his final 26-man squad were sent a video, albeit a brief one, after a USMNT administrator added them all to a Whatsapp group chat. “Guys, if you’re watching this video, it’s because you are in,” Pochettino said in the video.“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.”Stay up to date on all things USMNT across our talkSPORT platforms – subscribe to our YouTube channel for the latest news, opinion, exclusive interviews and our daily unfiltered, unscripted show ‘The S* Word, from 8am ET.All 104 games at the 2026 World Cup this summer will be live on talkSPORT, talkSPORT 2 and the talkSPORT app.