The U.S. men's national team is once again going into an international window shorthanded.

Several USMNT players are either injured or just recovering from injury, keeping them off Mauricio Pochettino's squad for friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay.

But Pochettino also left one particular mainstay off the squad who is perfectly healthy. Examining the coach's rationale reveals some strange logic that may mask the coach's real feelings for the player.

This week's Five leads off with the curious case of Weston McKennie.

Pochettino's odd McKennie logic

Pochettino's rationale for leaving Weston McKennie off his November roster didn't make a whole lot of sense at the time, and it was even less understandable after what followed in the immediate aftermath.

The USMNT boss omitted a healthy McKennie for the second time in three camps because, in his telling, the midfielder was better served staying at Juventus and working to impress new manager Luciano Spalletti.

Plenty of other key Juventus players, of course, are joining their national teams during the upcoming window, and other USMNT November call-ups like Folarin Balogun, Gio Reyna and Joe Scally, have seen coaching changes over the past two months. Auston Trusty was called in despite a current coaching vacancy at Celtic.

But Pochettino's rationale also falls apart when considering McKennie already appears to have made a big impression on Spaletti.

The USMNT midfielder has played nearly every minute of Spaletti's first three games in charge, including Saturday's 0-0 draw with local rival Torino.

According to Corriere dello Sport, Spaletti has even pushed the club to renew McKennie's contract, which expires at the end of the current season.

For a coach who insists that the USMNT is "not playing friendly games" with the World Cup so close, leaving McKennie in Italy when Juventus has no games and only half a team present is a strange logical leap.

Agyemang sends a message

Patrick Agyemang has a major battle on his hands for a World Cup spot.

After taking center stage at the Gold Cup this summer, the Derby striker has been falling down the pecking order for the USMNT. He wasn't called up in September due to injury, was called up in October but didn't play, and then left off this month's roster.

Agyemang at least had an encouraging response to his snub, finding the net with a towering header in Derby's 2-1 win over Blackburn on Saturday.

After a rough start, the Rams have now won five straight games. Agyemang now has two goals and three assists in 11 games. It's an acceptable total for a player coming off an injury and adjusting to a new league, but he'll probably have to quicken the pace to capture Pochettino's attention.

Balo giveth and Balo taketh away

It was an eventful match for Folarin Balogun on Saturday, but the Monaco striker probably would have wished for a quieter game against Lens, all things considered.

Balogun earned a penalty, scored a penalty and was shown a straight red card all within a 10-minute stretch of the first half in a 4-1 defeat.

The USMNT striker did well to win the ball in the box and generate contact with a defender to earn a penalty, which he converted himself.

But just before halftime, Balogun made a major error with a studs-up challenge to Mamadou Sangaré's ankle. It wasn't malicious, but it was dangerous and it gave the referee a decision to make.

Monaco will go into the break in sixth place after back-to-back league losses. Balogun will come out of the break with an extra game to rest.

Tessmann making crucial errors

Tanner Tessmann is not entering USMNT camp on a high.

The Lyon midfielder made a crucial mistake in Sunday's marquee showdown with PSG, losing possession on the edge of the box in a sequence that immediately led to a Khvicha Kvaratskhelia goal.

PSG would go on to win the match 3-2, making Tessmann's error even more costly.

Tessmann's error followed last weekend's 0-0 draw against Brest, a game in which the USMNT midfielder was sacrificed in the 15th minute after his turnover led to a red card for defender Hans Hateboer.

“Such passes in this situation are unacceptable, and they lead to mistakes," Lyon assistant Jorge Maciel said after the Brest match.

"We need to be confident that the pass will reach our teammate. It was an unnecessary error when we were performing reasonably well in the match.”

Pulisic returns, falters in front of goal

Christian Pulisic could have marked his injury return in style, but the AC Milan forward faltered in a situation he's thrived in this season.

Making his first appearance in a month, Pulisic came on in the 71st minute in a 2-2 game at Parma.

Though he looked sharp during his time on the field, the American's night was marred by a missed chance after being perfectly set up by Rafael Leão.

Milan ultimately could only draw 2-2, continuing a worrying trend of slipping up against the lower sides in the table. If the Rossoneri want to push for a title this season, they'll need to collect maximum points against teams they should beat.

This article originally appeared on Pro Soccer Wire: The Americans Abroad Five: McKennie's bizarre USMNT snub

Reporting by Seth Vertelney, Pro Soccer Wire / Pro Soccer Wire

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