After nearly a decade of dreaming and debating which 23 26 players should make the USMNT roster for the 2026 World Cup on home soil, Mauricio Pochettino has made his selections.
MORE — World Cup rosters for all 48 teams
Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Antonee Robinson, Weston McKennie, Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun will wear the Stars and Stripes this summer, now with only one question on everyone’s mind: How far can they go?
The Yanks will play a pair of World Cup sides, Senegal (May 31, in Charlotte) and Germany (June 6, in Chicago), in their final tune-ups before kicking off their tournament against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles. They will also face Australia (June 19) and Turkiye (June 25) in Group D play.
If they win the group, the USMNT’s likeliest round-of-32 opponents would be any one of Canada, Qatar, Ivory Coast, Ecuador, Japan, Sweden, Senegal, Norway, Algeria or Austria (as third-place finishers). Should the Americans finish second in Group D, Egypt, Iran or New Zealand await (as runners-up, presuming Belgium win Group G). A third-place finish could see them face one of Germany, France or Portugal.
USMNT’s 26-man squad for 2026 World Cup
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
Defenders (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
Midfielders/wingers (10): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)
Forwards (3): Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
Here to chase legacy on home soil.
— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) May 26, 2026
Mauricio Pochettino has selected the 26 players to represent the United States this summer. pic.twitter.com/S8sF7l0PMi
Who was left off the USMNT’s World Cup roster?
Most notably, midfielders Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann were expected to make the team, but did not. Luna appeared in 17 games for the USMNT in 2025 and scored four goals, but the 22-year-old was not called up in March when the USMNT played Belgium and Portugal. He became an instant fan favorite full of flair and creativity in the final third, however Pochettino opted to go with 23-year-old Gio Reyna, who played just 512 minutes for Borussia Monchengladbach this season and hasn’t topped the 700-minute mark since the 2020-21 league season (with Borussia Dortmund). Luna has four goals and one assists in 100 more minutes for MLS side Real Salt Lake this year.
Tessman just played nearly 2,000 league minutes (plus 480 more in the Europa League) as a regular starter for Lyon, who finished 4th in Ligue 1. The 24-year-old was regularly called up and picked to play in 2024 and 2025 when Adams was unavailable due to injuries. The team lacked a reliable backup to the clear starter in defensive midfield back then and still does now with Tessman’s omission, but Adams was mostly healthy this season and is fresh off a 6th-place finish with Bournemouth in the Premier League. Tessman suffered an injury two weeks before the end of the club season, but it was reportedly minor and would not affect his availability for the World Cup.
Johnny Cardoso was almost certain to make the squad and serve as Adams’ backup, but he suffered an ankle injury earlier this month and opted for surgery that will rule him out until next season. Aidan Morris is the other midfielder that could have played the part after a strong season with Championship side Middlesbrough, but Pochettino ultimately chose to take none of them and will likely lean on Cristian Roldan and Sebastian Berhalter to play somewhat out of position in Adams’ place (and/or alongside him).
USMNT’s best XI, on paper
— Freese —
— Dest — M. Robinson — Richards — A. Robinson —
— Adams —
— McKennie — Tillman —
— Aaronson — — Pulisic —
— Balogun —
The thinking here is that because there isn’t a perfect candidate to play on the right, the best attacking plan is to give Sergino Dest, the most technically gifted and creative player in the entire USMNT pool (for better or for worse), lots of cover on that side of the field and allow him all the freedom he wants to get up and down the flank, otherwise it would be Alejandro Zendejas with anyone else playing right back. The rest is pretty uncontroversial, with Miles Robinson being the one other toss-up chosen at center back due to his threat as a target on set pieces. However…
Likeliest starting XI, in reality
— Freese —
— M. Robinson — Richards — McKenzie —
— Dest — — Adams — Roldan — — A. Robinson —
— McKennie —
— Balogun — Pulisic —
This is the “safer” route to go with extra cover at the back and it puts Pulisic closer to Balogun so they can better combine and play off one another, but it puts nearly all of the onus on Dest and Antonee Robinson to advance the ball, which will result in lots of crosses due to having very little creativity in midfield. Roldan is interchangeable with Berhalter for a more attacking setup, but only slightly.
