U.S. men's national team manager Mauricio Pochettino turned away questions on Yunus Musah and Joe Scally, two prominent snubs on the roster for October friendlies against Ecuador and Australia.

Speaking to reporters shortly after announcing a 26-player squad that featured numerous recalls for European-based players, Pochettino shut down attempts to hash out why Musah and Scally were not selected.

Still, in doing so, the USMNT boss slightly tipped his hand, arguing that only the all-time greats qualify for call-ups regardless of form.

"[There are] not too many players around the world that they [don't] depend on the level," argued Pochettino. "But you can talk about, if I don't know, maybe you can ask me why Messi is not in the roster. No, this type of player — Maradona, Pele, I don't know — but when you are talking about different names, I think you need to respect the players that are here."

Pochettino reiterated multiple times that he did not want to discuss players who were left off this latest roster, insisting that it would be disrespectful of those who were selected.

"I think we need to respect the players, the 26 [called in]," said Pochettino, who jokingly offered to debate a reporter over what their roster would have been. "If not, we are going to start to ask to the social media, 'why is not one player another?' and decide about that.

"I'm open to talk about the players that are in this roster, but not on the players that are not with us. What I want to tell you is, we are very focused, and we really work so hard, and try to build the best roster. These names that you are telling me? Of course, it's an open system. They maybe today are not here, but maybe they have the possibility to be, in the next month, here. We'll see. Or players that are here, maybe they are not going to be called again."

The composition of the roster may provide context for Pochettino's analysis of Musah and Scally, even if he didn't want to go public with his thoughts

For the Borussia Mönchengladback defender, the writing may already be on the wall. Scally played the full 90 minutes in each of Pochettino's first four matches as head coach, but has only been called up once since then (playing in Concacaf Nations League defeats against Panama and Canada in March).

Making matters worse, the USMNT looked more comfortable in a 3-4-2-1 set-up that produced dividends in September's 2-0 win over Japan. The requirements for wingbacks in that system are not necessarily an ideal fit for Scally, whose strengths skew towards his defending rather than his ability to attack. Pochettino's roster included Alex Freeman as the only natural fit at right wingback, and Tim Weah has significant experience in such a role as well.

Scally could play on the left, but with Antonee Robinson and Max Arfsten clearly high on Pochettino's list, it's unlikely that an opportunity would have ever materialized. The New York native has experience playing as a right-center back with Gladbach, but Pochettino called five natural center backs in, seemingly closing the door on that front.

Musah has appeared in all five of Atalanta's matches since moving late in the summer transfer window. However, he has started just once, a 4-0 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain, and his role under Ivan Jurić's tutelage is not entirely clear. While the versatile 22-year-old could also add depth in a wingback role, he has largely played centrally for the U.S., and Pochettino selected five other players that project to take the two holding midfield roles available.

That includes recalls for Weston McKennie, Aidan Morris, James Sands, and Tanner Tessmann, all of whom have dealt with being on the outside looking in at some point under the Argentine head coach. The fifth, Cristian Roldan, only just returned to the fold in September after being overlooked for two years.

All that said, Pochettino insisted that he has not closed the door on either player.

"I think we always try to bring the combination and to create the roster with a good balance, or with the players that I think, today, deserve to be here," explained the USMNT boss. "Future? We will see. Maybe these names that you are telling me, they will join us in the future."

This article originally appeared on Pro Soccer Wire: Pochettino downplays Musah, Scally snubs: I didn't leave off Messi or Pele

Reporting by Jason Anderson, Pro Soccer Wire / Pro Soccer Wire

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