When Mauricio Pochettino names the U.S. men’s national team roster next Tuesday for two high-profile tuneups in Atlanta against European powerhouses Belgium and Portugal, the temptation will be to assume it will be identical to the coach’s eventual World Cup squad.
By definition, they’re different. One will be announced in late March. The other one — the 26-man group that will compete in the planet’s biggest event on home soil this summer — is scheduled to drop with great fanfare on May 26.
And while most of those who are included for the March 28 test versus the Belgians and Portuguese are well-positioned to stick around for the World Cup itself, there is likely to be a few who don’t make it.
We’ll know a lot more about Pochettino’s player pool by April 1. For a team that hasn’t played together in four months, these upcoming contests will provide one final, crucial set of pre-tournament data points for the Argentine and his staff.
We don’t have that luxury. Not yet, anyway. The Americans kick off their World Cup campaign exactly three months from today, when they face Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles.
Who is most likely to be in Pochettino’s starting lineup that night? Here is my projection based on what we know today.
STRIKERS
Starter: Folarin Balogun
Backups: Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Patrick Agyemang
Just missed out: Damion Downs, Brian White, Josh Sargent
Even when his production was down during the middle part of Monaco’s season, Balogun was the odd-on choice to be the spear of the USA’s World Cup attack. Now Balogun is playing his best ball of the 2025-26 campaign, having scored five goals — three of them against Champions League titlists Paris Saint-Germain — in his last five games.
Pepi, Wright and Agyemang are also all scoring regularly for their clubs. Were Pochettino picking his World Cup squad today, all four would be deserving of the honor. With 26 available places, there’s no reason the former Chelsea, PSG and Tottenham Hotspur boss can’t take them all so long as that remains the case. All four have different strengths, and the U.S. can never have too many goalscorers. Especially at the World Cup.
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
Weston McKennie and Christian Pulisic will be the key playmakers (Getty)
Starters: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie
Backups: Brenden Aaronson, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman
Just missed out: Gio Reyna, Alex Zendejas
Pulisic has to be a lock despite not having a goal or assist for AC Milan in 2026. Same for McKennie, whose career season with Juventus is showing no signs of slowing down.
The hard-running Aaronson keeps starting for Premier League Leeds United, and while Tillman has been slowed by an ankle injury lately and used mostly off the bench for Bayer Leverkusen, his body of work for club and country over the last year won’t be forgotten. Same goes for Luna, who hasn’t played for Real Salt Lake in 2026 because of injury, one that will probably cost him a call-up this month.
Zendejas could replace Luna in Atlanta. Another goal, like the one he scored in September’s 2-0 win over Japan, would give the coaches something to think about. But the little lefty has been in just one camp under Poch over the last year and has also been dinged up; Zendejas hasn’t gone 90 minutes in any game this calendar year.
He’s still playing way more than Reyna is, though. The 2022 World Cup veteran is coming up on two months without an appearance for Borussia Mönchengladbach.
HOLDING MIDFIELDERS
Tyler Adams and Tanner Tessman will control the tempo. (Getty)
Starters: Sergiño Dest, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson
Backups: Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman
Hurt playing for PSV last weekend, Dest will miss the March window but is expected to recover in time to start a second straight World Cup. It’s also possible that Jedi — another known quantity who has been sidelined recently — could remain this month with Fulham, for which he’s only played in twice in six games since mid-February.
The news here is Freeman, who has struggled to get on the field for Villarreal since moving to La Liga in January. The former Orlando City standout came off the bench three times in February for the Yellow Submarine but has been an unused sub in three straight games. Freeman has played just 31 total minutes since scoring twice against Uruguay back on Nov. 18.
CENTER BACKS
Is Tim Weah an option in the backline? (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP via Getty Images)
Starter: Matt Freese
Backups: Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte
Just missed out: Chris Brady, Roman Celentano, Ethan Horvath, Jonathan Klinsmann, Diego Kochen, Zack Steffen
Freese started the final 12 games of 2025 for Pochettino. Will he man the nets in both games this month? Or will Turner, the USMNT’s No. 1 in Qatar, get one final chance to reclaim the top job? Either way, Freese is the clear incumbent as things stand today.
Who ends up as the Americans’ third World Cup keeper is far murkier. The best American backstop through the first three weeks of the MLS season has been San Diego’s 19-year-old Duran Ferree, but there’s no reason to think that the U.S. U-20 national teamer is in the running. We still think Schulte has the inside track. The Ohio native is a proven winner who has spent more time with Pochettino than any of his direct rivals. He also has valuable tournament experience, having helped the Olympic team reach the quarterfinals at the 2024 Summer Games in France.
