U.S. Men’s National Team (USMNT) Manager Mauricio Pochettino officially announced the 26-player World Cup roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The squad was announced during a live event in New York following a series of media leaks over the weekend.
The official squad by position:
Goalkeepers (3)
Chris Brady (Chicago Fire)
Matt Freese (New York City FC)
Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
Defenders (10)
Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew)
Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven)
Alex Freeman (Villarreal)
Mark McKenzie (Toulouse)
Tim Ream (Charlotte FC) – Set to be the oldest player to ever take the pitch for the U.S. at a World Cup at 38 years old.
Chris Richards (Crystal Palace)
Antonee Robinson (Fulham)
Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati)
Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Auston Trusty (Celtic)
Midfielders (4)
Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth)
Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps)
Weston McKennie (Juventus)
Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
Attacking Midfielders & Wingers (6)
Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United)
Christian Pulisic (AC Milan)
Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)
Tim Weah (Marseille)
Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)
Strikers (3)
Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco)
Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven)
Haji Wright (Coventry City)
Notable Omissions & Snubs
The most shocking cuts were Olumpique Lyon midfielder Tanner Tessmann and Real Salt Lake star Diego Luna. Tessmann, who struggled a bit with a late club-season muscle strain, just missed out despite being on some pundits’ (I’m looking at you, Doug McIntyre) Starting 11. Real Salt Lake rising star Diego Luna was also left home, despite being a symbol for much of Pochettino’s push for grit and heart (who can forget the bloody nose and ‘big balls’ praise?) While some fans believe that Gio Reyna was the one that pushed out Luna for that spot, it’s more likely that Brenden Aaronson’s strong second half in the Premier League with Leeds, and Alex Zendejas’ strong play in Liga MX, were in more direct competition for the ‘spark plug off the bench’ role. Additionally, Pochettino named 10 defenders, including 6-7 Central Defenders, to the roster — Joe Scally and Miles Robinson being the biggest defensive bubble players to make it in.
Pochettino will have until June 1 to officially confirm the list of players with FIFA. After that point, players can only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up to 24 hours before the team’s opening match.
The USMNT will play warm-up matches against Senegal (May 31st) and Germany (June 6th) before kicking off their World Cup group stage on June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
