Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic leave USMNT camp after Panama win

Several players from the U.S. men's national team will leave camp ahead of the upcoming friendly match against rivals Mexico.

The Stars and Stripes began the Mauricio Pochettino era with a 2-0 win over Panama at Q2 Stadium in Austin, as Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi both got on the scoresheet for the USMNT.

The decision to send Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Marlon Fossey and Zack Steffen back to their respective clubs comes as Pochettino maintains the players' fitness by sending them home early so they can return without injury.

While Pulisic started and played 67 minutes and Pepi came on as a substitute in the 67th minute, McKennie, Fossey and Steffen did not play in Pochettino's first game as USMNT coach.

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Pochettino stated after the game that he would not take any risks with McKennie's fitness in a friendly. “We protect him,” said Pochettino. “He arrived (with) some problems, not major ones, but an unpleasant situation, and we didn’t want to take any chances.”

Pulisic and McKennie have already played 720 and 358 minutes respectively for their respective clubs AC Milan and Juventus in the early stages of the season. Meanwhile, Pepi and Fossey have logged over 300 minutes for their respective teams PSV Eindhoven and Standard Liege, while Steffen's 3,600 minutes will be among the most for MLS players as he returns to the Colorado Rapids.

The USMNT returns to action on Tuesday night against El Tri at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara, Mexico.