Diego Kochen included in USMNT squad for friendly against Peru
The 20-year-old Barcelona loanee with Peruvian roots earns his first senior call-up as Pochettino builds a youth-heavy squad for the post-World Cup era
Mauricio Pochettino has named a 28-man USMNT roster for a slate of fall friendlies, and one name stands out for its storyline alone. Diego Kochen, a 20-year-old goalkeeper born in Miami to a Peruvian mother and Venezuelan father, has earned his first senior national team call-up. His potential debut could come on September 26 in Orlando, against Peru, the country of his mother’s birth.
A roster built for the future
The squad Pochettino assembled carries an average age of just 22 years and nine months. Thirteen of the 28 players have zero senior caps. Another 13 were part of the 2026 World Cup roster, providing a backbone of experience around a wave of fresh talent.
The four-match schedule runs through late September and early October: Peru on September 26 in Orlando, Chile on September 29 in St. Louis, Mexico on October 3, and Canada on October 6.
Kochen’s winding path to the squad
Kochen was born on March 19, 2006, in Miami. He trained through Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy system. He’s currently on loan from Barcelona Atlètic, the club’s reserve side, to Lyngby Boldklub in Denmark’s Superliga.
His loan at Lyngby runs through June 2027 and includes a purchase option reportedly set at around €1.5 million. Despite the club sitting near the bottom of the Superliga table, Kochen has been a fixture in goal, starting every match at the outset of the season.
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Kochen is one of four goalkeepers named to the roster, joining Freese, Brady, and Schwake.
Kochen holds eligibility for four different national teams: the US, Peru, Venezuela, and Spain. The Peruvian Football Federation reportedly tracked him for some time, seeing the Miami-born keeper with a Peruvian mother as a potential recruitment target. He chose the Stars and Stripes.
A senior cap against Peru would lock in that decision permanently, adding a layer of strategic importance to what might otherwise be a low-stakes September friendly.
Pochettino’s post-World Cup blueprint
An average roster age under 23 is unusually young for a senior national team, even in friendlies. The 13 uncapped players represent a deliberate pipeline from US youth national teams and MLS academies into the senior setup.
The four friendly opponents — Peru, Chile, Mexico, and Canada — represent a range of CONCACAF and South American styles. Mexico and Canada are regional rivals with genuine competitive edge, even in friendlies, while Peru and Chile offer a South American tactical challenge.