By comparison, predicting the United States\u00a0men\u2019s national team\u2019s 26-player roster before the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a breeze.<\/p>\n
There were a couple of minor surprises \u2014 Alex Zendejas and Miles Robinson in! Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann out! \u2014 but by and large, the players Mauricio Pochettino selected for the eventual round of 16 run were no-brainers for anyone who had been paying attention in the months leading up to the tournament.<\/p>\n
Signed to a new four-year contract afterward, Pochettino\u2019s first post-World Cup squad will drop on Thursday ahead of stateside exhibition games against Peru, Chile, Canada and historic rival Mexico.<\/p>\n
Who makes this one is far less clear.<\/p>\n
Speaking with reporters on Labor Day, Poch said the USA\u2019s September\/October camp would mix youngsters and World Cup veterans. Although he seemed to suggest that 30 players \u2014 including four keepers would be summoned to Atlanta starting Sept. 20 \u2014 my understanding is that the final list could be a little smaller.<\/p>\n
Will Christian Pulisic be on it? That\u2019s the biggest question ahead of Thursday\u2019s announcement. Un unused substitution in each of AC Milan\u2019s first three games of the new season, the USA\u2019s longtime headliner made his first appearance of the 2026-27 campaign on Saturday, coming off the bench for the final 31 minutes and providing as assist to help the Rossoneri salvage a point against Lazio.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll see if that\u2019s enough to get Pulisic recalled.<\/p>\n
(Photo by Matteo Ciambelli\/DeFodi Images\/DeFodi via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p>\n Meantime, Cavan Sullivan has clearly done enough to warrant an invitation.<\/p>\n The 16-year-old Philadelphia Union prodigy scored twice on Sunday night in a 5-0 drubbing of San Diego. He has now has made goal contributions in seven consecutive matches, with five goals and six assists in that span.\u00a0<\/p>\n Add in the fact that there\u2019s no under-23 national team programming until November and Sullivan, expected to be a key figure for what will become the 2028 Olympic squad, and the playmaking winger\u2019s inclusion seems even more certain.<\/p>\n Figuring out who else will be there isn\u2019t easy. With the 2030 World Cup cycle almost upon us, here\u2019s my best educated guess:<\/p>\n *Denotes a player who is injured<\/i><\/p>\n New York City FC<\/p>\n Chicago Fire<\/p>\n Lyngby BK<\/p>\n Nashville SC<\/p>\n Just missed out:<\/strong> Matt Turner<\/p>\n During last week\u2019s videoconference with reporters, Poch said he\u2019d bring in four keepers. Freese, 28, was the World Cup starter and gained crucial experience that should help him over these next four years. Brady, the USA\u2019s No. 3 behind Freese and Turner, has been superb for the Chicago Fire during the second half of the MLS season. The 25-year-old Schwake has been even better for league-leading Nashville, while 20-year-old Barcelona prospect Kochen, on a season-long loan to Danish club Lyngby, is finally getting a run of first team stats.<\/p>\n Turner, the 2022 No. 1 lost his place to Freese last year and will turn 36 during the 2030 event. With a wide-open race brewing over the next four years, he could be the odd man out this camp.<\/p>\n Fulham<\/p>\n Lask Linz<\/p>\n Villarreal<\/p>\n Philadelphia Union<\/p>\n Just missed out:<\/strong>\u00a0Luca Bombino,\u00a0Max Arfsten, Joe Scally, Tim Weah<\/p>\n As one of the\u00a0Stars and Stripes’ most respected leaders, having Jedi around the next generation in their maiden camp could be invaluable. The veteran left back has started all four of Fulham\u2019s Premier League games so far, including all 90 minutes in Saturday\u2019s scoreless tie at Liverpool.<\/p>\n When asked about potentially omitting players who just joined new clubs, Poch name-checked Arfsten. So let\u2019s assume he\u2019s out. Same for the uncapped Bombino, 20, who moved to Stoke City on Deadline Day. That could open the door for the 24-year-old Bello to return to the national team for the first time since 2022. The former Atlanta United left back made his UEFA Champions League debut last week with Austria\u2019s LASK.<\/p>\n World Cup goalscorer Freeman has emerged as a starter in his first full season with Villarreal, while fellow right back Westfield, 20, is quickly becoming one of the best at the position in the domestic circuit. He could get a look over known quantities like Scally and Weah this window.<\/p>\n Crystal Palace<\/p>\n Toulouse<\/p>\n Celtic<\/p>\n Philadelphia Union<\/p>\n Just missed out:<\/strong> Miles Robinson, Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers<\/p>\n Richards enters the 2030 cycle as he did the last one: as the Americans’ best central defender. There\u2019s a gaping hole next to him now, though, with the soon-to-be-39-year-old Tim Ream surely having worn his country\u2019s colors for the last time. Trusty, who made a late press to claim a World Cup spot and scored in the meaningless group stage loss to T\u00fcrkiye, figures to be the next left-footed man up, while the popular McKenzie should maintain his role as a serviceable option at age 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n The most intriguing name here is Pierre\u2019s. Philadelphia\u2019s 6-foot-7 18-year-old has taken MLS by storm since returning from his loan to Lyngby in July, anchoring Philly\u2019s back line and scoring four goals in his 10 league appearances in 2026.<\/p>\n Bournemouth<\/p>\n Middlesbrough<\/p>\n Stoke City<\/p>\n Middlesbrough<\/p>\n AC Milan<\/p>\n Strasbourg<\/p>\n Bayer Leverkusen<\/p>\n Just missed out:<\/strong> Weston McKennie*,\u00a0 Johnny Cardoso,\u00a0Tanner Tessmann, Gianluca Busio*<\/p>\n It\u2019s two straight Prem starts now for Adams, who began the season coming off the bench for Bournemouth. Berhalter, the veteran destroyer\u2019s understudy at the World Cup, is improving every week at \u2018Boro in England\u2019s second-tier; the 25-year-old scored twice in Sunday\u2019s 3-2 victory over Norwich. Morris went 90 for the fifth contest running in that match.<\/p>\n McGlynn scored his first for Stoke on Sunday, with his right foot no less. The native New Yorker won 12 caps under Poch in 2025 before an untimely injury derailed his World Cup dreams and seems poised for a return. Same for Musah, whose insertion at halftime for Milan against Lazio was as crucial as Pulisic\u2019s contribution later on.<\/p>\n McKennie is still suffering from “muscle fatigue” and hasn\u2019t played for Juventus since the Serie A opener on Aug. 23. Cardoso and Tessmann have seen only slightly more action. The former\u2019s 15 minutes for Atl\u00e9tico Madrid in Sunday\u2019s 3-0 win over Real Sociedad was his longest run-out so far, while the latter logged only the final three minutes for Lyon in Saturday\u2019s stalemate with Paris FC.<\/p>\n Psv Eindhoven<\/p>\n Leeds United<\/p>\n Philadelphia Union<\/p>\n New England Revolution<\/p>\n Orlando City SC<\/p>\n Just missed out:\u00a0<\/strong>Christian Pulisic, Diego Luna, Alex Zendejas*<\/p>\n Sullivan isn\u2019t the only teenage attacker lighting up MLS. Normally a left-sided forward, the 18-year-old Miller was deployed on the opposite flank by New England Revolution coach Marko Mitrovi\u0107 on Sunday and scored the game winner against Chicago (and former USA boss Gregg Berhalter). Ellis, 19, is riding a four-game assist streak for Orlando City.<\/p>\n As for the older heads, Dest has been brilliant for PSV all season, and Aaronson has started two of Leeds\u2019 last three Premier League outings, splitting time between left wing and attacking midfield.<\/p>\n Luna could come back this month but hasn\u2019t scored or assisted for Real Salt Lake in almost a month and didn\u2019t feature in Saturday\u2019s 2-0 defeat to Freese\u2019s New York City FC. That doesn\u2019t help.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s Pulisic. Last week, Poch again appeared to criticize the star\u2019s decision to skip the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. Yet the Argentine never left Pulisic out of a camp for it \u2014 unlike Musah, who hasn\u2019t been back since. With Pulisic having played just a half-hour of soccer since suffering a double microfracture of his leg in the Americans’ World Cup-ending 4-1 defeat to Belgium, it wouldn\u2019t be a surprise to see the former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager go either direction: Insist that Pulisic report anyway, or send a clear message to him and the rest of the squad that ahead of this next World Cup, every opportunity to represent the USA will be earned.<\/p>\n Psv Eindhoven<\/p>\n Crystal Palace<\/p>\n New York Red Bulls<\/p>\n Just missed out:<\/strong> Folarin Balogun,\u00a0Patrick Agyemang*, Milan Iloski, Brian White, Haji Wright*<\/p>\n Finally, a full-time starter for PSV, Pepi has been his usual prolific self, scoring three times in seven Eredivisie and Champions League games.\u00a0 The pickings up top are slim for Poch up front after that. Balogun hasn\u2019t played at all this season for Monaco and was left off the club\u2019s European roster entirely following his failed Deadline Day transfer to Everton. Even if Pochettino wanted to give his top forward a run of games, the 25-year-old Balogun\u2019s lack of match fitness might prevent it. Agyemang (still recovering from Achilles surgery) and Wright (serious quad injury) are unavailable.<\/p>\n That opens spots for Crystal Palace\u2019s Gozo, 19, and maybe even Red Bull New York\u2019s 18-year-old Hall. Poch and lead assistant Jesus Perez were at London\u2019s Selhurst Park last week to see Gozo come off the bench for the final 17 minutes of Palace\u2019s EFL Cup win over \u2018Boro. (He also made a cameo in Saturday\u2019s Premier League loss to Ipswich Town.) Hall, who should vie for the starting striker job on the Olympic team, has nine goals in 2,114 MLS minutes in 2026, though his last came all the way back in May. So Poch could opt for Philly’s Iloski (10G, 5A since May) or even the 30-year-old White, who notched his 15th goal in Sunday\u2019s loss to Austin \u2014 the most of any American in MLS this season. White scored twice in seven appearances for the USA last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BROWSE BY By comparison, predicting the United States\u00a0men\u2019s national team\u2019s 26-player roster before the 2026 FIFA World Cup was a breeze. There were a couple of minor surprises \u2014 Alex Zendejas and Miles Robinson in! Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann out! \u2014 but by and large, the players Mauricio Pochettino selected for the eventual round […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7312,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7313","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-soccer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7312"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/play-live.eu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}