Before last week’s stunning 5-1 demolition of Uruguay by the United States men’s national team in Tampa last week, a trusted source told me something interesting: “I suspect that at least one big name won’t make this World Cup roster.”
The conversation stuck with me as the Americans poured in goal after goal on La Celeste, a two-time World Cup champion. Afterward, USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino made it even more clear that he wasn’t kidding when he said that there are no such things as “regulars” in his squad.
Mauricio Pochettino and the USMNT wrapped up 2025 with two wins. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
Pochettino started 20 different players across the two hugely impressive November wins over Uruguay and Paraguay. The Uruguay win was easily the USMNT’s best performance since Pochettino – the former Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Tottenham Hotspur coach – was hired to steer a listless American squad steadily toward the 2026 World Cup on home soil.
That he did it despite a glut of injures to some of the country’s most decorated and battle-tested players — forward Christian Pulisic, midfielder Tyler Adams, center-back Chris Richards and right-back Antonee “Jedi” Robinson among them — proved that the roster the Argentine is constructing will be both deep and capable of standing toe-to-toe with the game’s superpowers next June and July.
The high quality problem it creates? Because only 26 World Cup spots are available, several deserving players won’t get a golden ticket to the greatest show in sports.
With the USMNT now idle for four months, the competition for places will now continue at club level both at home and overseas. The 71 players Pochettino looked at up close during his first 14 months in charge will be vying for one last chance to impress next March against Belgium and Portugal – the Americans’ final two games before the World Cup roster is announced.
Who will be on it? And will one or more of the 2022 World Cup headliners indeed be left standing in the cold? Here’s our projection as matters stand today:
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Matt Freese remains looked in as the starter. (Photo by Michael Pimentel/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Starters: Chris Richards, Tim Ream
Backups: Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty
Just missed out: Noahkai Banks, Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Walker Zimmerman
Nothing happened in November that would suggest that Richards and Ream aren’t still Pochettino’s two best options in the heart of the American defense. That’s even more true in a four-man back line, which the U.S. boss used in both games this month after experimenting with a three-center-back system earlier in the fall.
The two goals conceded weren’t down to individual mistakes as much as poor collective defending; Pochettino was particularly unhappy with the way Uruguay scored at the end of the first half.
Still, with Richards staying with his club Crystal Palace to nurse a sore calf and Ream rested against La Celeste after going 90 minutes against Paraguay, McKenzie and Trusty got an opportunity and helped themselves overall.
After going nearly three years between U.S. starts, Trusty is now firmly in the World Cup mix. But don’t sleep on the 18-year-old Banks, who has started six of the last seven games for Augsburg in Germany’s Bundesliga.
Alex Freeman is one of the USMNT breakout players. (Photo by MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Starters: Tyler Adams, Tanner Tessmann
Backups: Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Roldan
Just missed out: Johnny Cardoso, Gianluca Busio, Luca de la Torre, Aidan Morris, Yunus Musah, Timmy Tillman
With a goal off the bench against the Uruguayans, Tessmann continued to cement himself as a key man in central midfield. Adams missed the November games because of injury, but he was back in Premier League Bournemouth’s lineup in the Cherries first match after the international break.
Berhalter’s beautiful goal against Uruguay probably secured his spot on the World Cup roster; now he’ll try to lead the Vancouver Whitecaps to an MLS Cup title. Roldan keeps helping the Americans win. Morris did that in November, too, but he probably falls victim to the numbers game if the guys in front of him stay healthy and available.
Cardoso and Musah simply aren’t playing. Last weekend, they were unused substitutes for Atlético Madrid and Atalanta, respectively. Unless and until that changes, they’ll remain on the outside of the bubble despite their obvious pedigree.
Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are also locked in. (Photo by Omar Vega/Getty Images)
Starter: Folarin Balogun
Backups: Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright
Just missed out: Patrick Agyemang, Damion Downs, Brian White, Josh Sargent
Balogun’s match-winning goal against Paraguay was his third in as many starts. He’s the clear starter up top now, not least with Pepi once again struggling for regular minutes at PSV Eindhoven.
Wright had a quiet camp compared to his two-goal outburst in October, perhaps because of the muscle ailment he was diagnosed with upon his return to Coventry City in England’s second tier.
Those three are well ahead of the pack right now, though Agyemang — who started five games for Derby County this month — is probably best positioned to challenge that pecking order in the months ahead.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
