Alex Zendejas was not named to Mauricio Pochettino’s March U.S. men’s national team roster and Club America manager Andre Jardine is curious why.

Zendejas missed out on the USMNT’s penultimate roster before the FIFA World Cup begins, as the squad prepares for upcoming friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. The Club America attacker was not one of the 27 players named by Pochettino, putting a major dagger in his chances of potentially being part of this summer’s competition.

Despite scoring two goals in six appearances for Club America in 2026, Zendejas was passed over for several other attackers including Gio Reyna and Brenden Aaronson. Reyna has only played 26 minutes in the new year while Aaronson has seen his goal contributions drop majorly for Leeds United since the calendar flipped.

Zendejas is closing in on his fourth-consecutive double digit goalscoring campaign as he currently sits on nine goals for the season and 52 for the club since joining in 2022.

While Jardine did not comment on the other attacking players that Pochettino called in this month, he did praise his 28-year-old attacker for being a continued threat in Liga MX.

“It’s tricky to comment on who he’s competing with, but it’s true that Zendejas has been a game-changer for America, season after season,” Jardine said in a pre-match press conference ahead of Wednesday’s CONCACAF Champions Cup second leg tie vs. the Philadelphia Union. “I consider him among the top-three players in the league.”

Zendejas has not scored in each of his last three appearances but will try to change that on Wednesday as Club America seeks a quarterfinal round berth. A strong run over the next two months could potentially force Zendejas back into the USMNT mix, especially should injuries arise for other players in Pochettino’s pool.

Zendejas has scored twice in 13 USMNT caps to date, last featuring and scoring for the program in September against Japan.