U.S. soccer sporting director Matt Crocker has offered some telling insight into Christian Pulisic absence from Mauricio Pochettino’s squad.

Instead, Pochettino will work with a batch of inexperienced players, with the current roster averaging 18 caps and 11 in official competition. The group includes four players who received first-time call-ups to the senior national team – Sebastian Berhalter, Damion Downs, Alex Freeman and Quinn Sullivan.

The U.S. men’s soccer team’s latest roster has a lot of Philly flavor, but also a lot of big names missing. Medford’s Brenden Aaronson is back after not making the squad for March’s Nations League Final Four,