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
Folarin Balogun is a scoring machine. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)
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: Tyler Adams, Tanner Tessmann
Backups: Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Cristian Roldan
Just missed out: Aidan Morris, Yunus Musah
Adams is a no-brainer, obviously. But Tessmann’s performances for Lyon have been up and down lately — he was on the bench vs. Celta Vigo on Thursday — could also be losing his gip on a starting spot for the U.S. in part because of Cardoso. The 24-year-old Cardoso has been in Atlético Madrid’s XI in six of the Spanish giants’ last eight La Liga outings. He’s also started Atleti’s last two Champions League matches, including 90 minutes in Tuesday’s 5-2 walloping of Tottenham in the round of 16 first leg.
It’s true that Cardoso has never played well for the USMNT in his 22 appearances. But he figures to get one last long look in least one of the March games. If he performs well, it could suddenly become his spot to lose.
By scoring his first two goals for Italian club Atalanta in early March, Musah is also making a late push. It could be too little, too late for a player who has now gone almost 12 full months without an international cap. The 2022 World Cup standout, who is still only 23, might not even be next man up. Morris featured in the final four USMNT games of 2025 and started two of those — including the year-ending 5-1 rout of Uruguay.
Meantime, Berthalter and Roldan have picked up where they left off in the fall with their MLS teams. The former scored his first goal of the season for Vancouver last weekend, while Roldan has logged every minute through three games in Seattle. The pair face off on Thursday night, when the Whitecaps host the Sounders in the Concacaf Champions Cup (10 p.m. ET on FS2).
WINGBACKS
Sergiño Dest and Antonee ‘Jedi’ Robinson are facing injury concerns. (Getty)
Starters: Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Tim Weah
Backups: Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson
Just missed out: Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Walker Zimmerman
There are legitimate concerns that the 38-year-old Ream, Pochettino’s captain, is finally showing his age with Charlotte FC early this MLS season. How he fares against two all-world attacks with the USA in Atlanta will reveal plenty about his current level ahead of the World Cup.
With Freeman idling, Weah is a more than adequate replacement. No, he’s not a center back. Neither is Freeman. But he’s occupied a similar role often for Marseille since moving from Juventus last August, even if he’s more likely to be deployed at right wing this month with Dest unavailable.
GOALKEEPERS
Matt Freese continues to be on the inside track. (Photo by Terence Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
