Howard didn't mince words when discussing McKennie's absence, stating that the decision "makes no sense to him at all." The former USMNT star pointed out that McKennie would essentially be training with a skeleton squad at Juventus during the international break, providing limited opportunity to impress his club manager.
“Weston’s going to be training, all the other internationals at his club are gone!” Howard said on the Unfiltered soccer podcast. “They’re going to their national team, so he’s going to be training with a skeleton squad or some reserves or some other guys.
“So, I can assure everybody who’s listening, you are not impressing a manager in a 10-day international window back at your club. And by the way, if that was the case, I’d say to my manager, ‘You want to assess me? Well, I’m going to play two games, I’m going to play two really good international games, you should watch those 180 minutes cause I’m going to be on the pitch.’
The former goalkeeper's comments highlighted potential issues in the relationship between the player and national team management. Howard questioned whether Pochettino had even spoken directly with McKennie about the decision, and if so, expressed surprise that such an arrangement would be acceptable to the coaching staff.
“So I don’t know how, apparently, the players and the managers don’t speak with the U.S. team, but if they did have a conversation, I’m curious,” Howard said. “Did Poch say, ‘Hey Wes, I’m going to leave you out?’…So I don’t even know how that was accepted by the player….So this again tells me that the national team isn’t a priority. People are going to argue that with me, I think the World Cup for these players is a priority; I don’t think the national team is a priority.”
Howard expressed disbelief over Weston McKennie’s omission from the national team squad for the November 2025 friendlies, calling the situation “baffling.” He highlighted that McKennie’s exclusion means he will have featured in just one national team camp over the past calendar year despite being among the program’s top performers.
“I’m baffled by this one, because I think I’m right here, if he doesn’t come into this camp, which he’s not, the next time he’s available to come into camp is March," Howard said. "And I then believe it will be one calendar year where he’s only been in camp with the national team one time. That’s crazy…Probably our top three, certainly our top five best player, hands down has been with the team one time in the calendar year.”
McKennie's absence continues a pattern of availability challenges that have plagued the USMNT throughout recent international windows. Injuries and game management have also prevented players like Chris Richards, Christian Pulisic, and several others from being a part of a crucial November international window for the USMNT.
