The USMNT Roster

(This is the audio-only version of Thursday’s MartyTimeTV / Section 1904 joint venture. You can find and subscribe to this podcast on Apple and Spotify and right here on Substack by clicking the button below. To watch this episode, click here)Thursday is an off day for the San Diego Padres, which feels like a good thing for everyone involved. The media are running out of new and creative ways to describe the offensive futility. Fans are frustrated. Players are searching for answers. After Wednesday’s loss to Philadelphia, Marty covered the Padres clubhouse and asked Manny Machado about the team’s hitting coaches and got an interesting answer about where blame lies. We also talked about Machado’s recent media sessions overall and how the tone sounds different from the clubhouse tone setter: The Pads will play next in Washington D.C. and then in Philadelphia. If more Padres coverage is what you desire, please find the latest episodes of Friar Territory here.After the baseball talk, we welcomed in our friend, Eric Gomez from ESPN in Mexico City, to talk about the United States Men’s National Team roster reveal, including Mauricio Pocettino’s decision to email the rejects. Is this a big deal or just par for the course with U.S. Soccer these days?Eric also provided great insight on Alejandro Zendejas, offering high praise for the Club America winger and the potential for a World Cup breakout. We also talked about whether success for the U.S. is directly linked to Christian Pulisic and if Pochettino would be wise to have a backup plan in case Pulisic can’t shake his recent form (Pulisic hasn’t yet scored a goal in 2026).We ended the convo talking about the upcoming Mexican National Team announcement on June 1st, including any potential for a surprise following El Tri’s 2-0 win over Ghana last week. Will Club Tijuana’s Gilberto Mora have fellow Xolos teammates along for the ride? Is there a player who Eric thinks should make it who seems to be on the outside looking in? The World Cup starts two weeks from Friday.Thanks for being here! Subscribe for free to receive new posts, podcasts and videos - sent directly to your inbox. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit dsmithshow.substack.com