The 26: Projecting the USA's World Cup Roster With 3 Months To Go

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 BalogunBackups: Ricardo Pepi,  Haji Wright,  Patrick AgyemangJust 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 Starters: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennieBackups: 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 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 came off the bench for the final five minutes of Thursday's 1-1 Europa League tie with Spain's Celta Vigo — could also be losing his gip on a starting spot for the U.S. 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 that Pochettino watched in person. 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 during at least one of the two March games. If he performs well and Tessmann doesn't, it could suddenly become Johhny's 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, Berhalter 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 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 Starters: Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Tim Weah Backups: Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson Just missed out: Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty,  Walker Zimmerman Per well-sourced German publication Kicker, Noahkai Banks – the 19-year-old Hawaii-born, Germany-rasied defender who's having a breakout season for Bundesliga side Augsburg, will miss the March camp as he considers which country to represent. "I’m very torn, Banks said this week. "I’m in contact with both the U.S. and Germany, and both national team coaches…I don’t want to make my decision dependent on a World Cup." Because Banks represented the U.S. at the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup, he'd have to petition FIFA for a one-time switch of national association to play for Die Mannschaft – something he hasn't yet done, a source with knowledge of the situation told me on Wednesday. But it's hard to see Poch handing a World Cup roster spot to him if he's not ready to make a commitment. That's true even though there are legitimate concerns that the 38-year-old Ream, Pochettino’s go-to 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 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.