TEMPE, Ariz. – The first U.S. camp since the World Cup featured more than a dozen young players looking to impress coach Mauricio Pochettino in this four-game window.
Yunus Musa fits the profile in some ways: 23 years old, in good form with his club and eager for international opportunities as he enters a new four-year period.
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What makes Musa stand out is that he has already played in a World Cup — four years ago in Qatar, not this summer’s jamboree in North America.
The midfielder, who started all four matches in Qatar in 2022, returns to the team after an 18-month absence. Although he has played 49 times for the United States – third on the list – he is not much older than those who debuted in the last nine days.
“It gives me memories of my first camp,” said the eight teenagers at the camp [in 2020] Musah said in an interview with Yahoo Sports and ESPN on Friday. “It was very similar, but I was in their shoes, so I definitely understand the excitement. I understand their position and it’s good to look back.”
And now to look ahead. In his first appearance since the CONCACAF Nations League in March 2025, Musah came on for 62 minutes in a 4-1 win over Peru in Orlando on September 26, and after last Tuesday’s 4-2 win over Chile in St. Louis, Mexico A scored 25 points in a 3-0 win over Grizzland on Saturday.
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The Americans will close the window against Canada on Tuesday in St. Paul.
Yunus Musah is back with the USMNT after an 18-month hiatus that included missing the 2026 World Cup and a frustrating season on loan at Atalanta.
(Mark Thorstenson/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Musah is trying to rebuild after disappearing from the US scene – as a result of skipping an official tournament in the summer of 2025 and receiving little playing time on loan last season.
“Obviously it’s been a while since he’s been in camp and you forget how young he still is, how many World Cups he can play,” captain Tyler Adams said. “So we’re trying to get the best out of him every day. But he’s been training really well and obviously just trying to prove that he belongs here.”
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Musa is back in the mix for a simple reason: He plays regularly for Italian giants AC Milan, who also coach U.S. star Christian Pulisic.
“It felt like something I deserved from the beginning of the season, so I think it’s deserved on my part,” he said. “I did really well for Milan, a big club, and I think it makes sense and I’m happy to be back.”
After a losing season at Milan on loan at Italian club Atalanta, Musah played 90 minutes in the first three Serie A matches and came on as a single in the last two. He also played 90 games in a 2-0 loss to Benfica in the UEFA Europa League opener.
After his loan ended in June, Musah said he received a message from new Milan manager Ruben Amorim that he was valued by the club.
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Moses was skeptical at first.
“That message was good, but at the same time, I didn’t read much of it,” he said. “Maybe I thought [he was] Like all other managers, I say this to keep you at the club.”
United States midfielder Yunus Musah (10) defends the ball from Mexico midfielder Isaiah Violante during the second half of an international friendly soccer match in Glendale, Ariz.
(AP Photo/Rick Scooter)
Amorim’s words rang true as the preseason progressed and Moses’ role took hold. Musa was indeed in Mila’s plans.
“For the managers to believe in me again as a player, that’s what you really want: for the managers to believe in you and let you play,” he said.
This also applies to Pochettino.
“Yunus is still young,” said the 54-year-old Argentine. “He didn’t play at the last World Cup, but now to see him perform the way we expected from the start of the season… so we’re calling him up again. I think it’s really open, like the other players.”
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When Pochettino took over in October 2024, Musah was in good form and scored his only international goal on the manager’s debut. He remained in the U.S. plans the following spring before his international career came to an abrupt halt.
Neither he nor almost any of his teammates fared well in the CONCACAF Nations League Final Four. Musah then decided to skip the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup to recover from the club season and finally spend quality time with her baby daughter.
“The last few months have been really intense and difficult with the fans and the whole situation at the club,” Musah said of AC Milan, who finished a poor eighth and stumbled in the Champions League. “I also had a daughter, so I wanted to prioritize the very, very important moments in my child’s growth – staying with the family. [and a] prime time I don’t want to miss. I wasn’t going to take a break after that. It’s important to mentally stop and come back sharp next season.”
With the Gold Cup the final competition before the 2026 World Cup, Pochettino wanted the players to be fully committed to the cause. Musah’s absence was overshadowed by Pulisic’s decision to withdraw from the discussion. However, this was not to the heart of the head coach.
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Things got worse for Moses, whose loan to Atalanta backfired horribly in 2025-26. He made 27 appearances in all competitions but started just six times and, with the World Cup looming, went four months between starts in the second half of the season.
“It’s very disappointing because I believe I’m a starter,” he said. “So it was really difficult to be accepted as a key player on the bench and not get used to it all season. If I felt I didn’t have the qualities to play, then I would have put my hand up and said, ‘Yeah, I deserve to be on the bench.’ I learned.”
What did he learn?
“I’ve learned that you should definitely do your full research before going to a club,” Musa said with a laugh.
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Through it all, “I learned how to handle myself when I wasn’t playing. … I always still had a smile on my face,” he said, citing his deep religious faith.
The writing was on the wall: Without regular playing time and extended call-ups, the World Cup looked increasingly out of reach.
“As the season went on, I felt it,” he said. “So, yeah, it looked like it was going to be summer vacation for me.”
Although his American friends played in the World Cup at home, Musa said he did not participate or watch. He is away from social networks. His phone was usually switched off.
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Instead, he spent the summer visiting Ghana (his parents’ home country) with his wife and daughter, Yumna, enjoying the beaches and street food in Zanzibar, a semi-autonomous archipelago off the East African coast of Tanzania.
“That’s how my summers usually go,” Moses said. “I’m always trying to disconnect.”
Four years ago, the New York-born midfielder was certain to spend part of the summer with Team USA. But as soon as the new era began, he was back on top. To get back into Pochettino’s good graces, he first had to clarify his position at the club.
Amorim gave hope.
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“He just transmits a lot of positivity, understanding,” Musah said. “He just gives me clear ideas on how to beat the opposition. Then I go into the game with the right head because I know exactly what the manager is asking me to do. … I just do what the manager tells me and most of the time it works.”
Musah played in central midfield with Croatian superstar Luka Modric, who at 41 is “still our best player”, Musah said. “He’s a leader who shows how it’s done.”
With his club career back on track and his absence in the United States over, Musah will compete for future camps such as the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinals next month.
Those two legs will be less than four years, as he played all but 16 minutes at the World Cup in Qatar.
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“We want him to continue to perform well, to continue to play for his club,” Pochettino said, “and to remain an important player.”
For Musah, it was the rebirth of the national team.
“Like when I came to my first camp and I was 17 years old,” he said, “I immediately felt part of the team.”