5 Takeaways From USA’s World Cup Roster Selection

NEW YORK — The sun shone brightly on the rooftop of Pier 17 in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon as, one by one, members of the U.S. World Cup team were officially introduced. Many of the familiar faces that led the 2022 squad — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Matt Turner — are returning for their second World Cup, but there were a number of players called up for their first World Cup, and just as notable were the players that head coach Mauricio Pochettino didn’t call up. Here are my five takeaways from the United States’ World Cup roster reveal in New York on Tuesday: 1. Surprises Across The Board The obvious omissions are midfielder Tanner Tessmann and attacker Diego Luna, who both started lots of games under Pochettino last year. Aidan Morris, who was in the lineup in three of the last two games for the U.S., was another notable player not selected. The midfielder had started in the Americans’ most recent outing, a 2-0 loss to Portugal in March. The obvious (and pleasant) surprise is Alex Zendejas, a left-footed attacker who can line up wide or centrally and who played his way onto the roster with consistently excellent performances for Mexican titan Club América over the last year-plus. Zendejas probably takes the place of Luna, who has been injured for MLS club Real Salt Lake. But Luna has still played more over the past few months than another surprise inclusion, attacking midfielder Gio Reyna, who managed just one goal in 19 appearances for his club Borussia Mönchengladbach — just four of them starts — in Germany’s Bundesliga during the just-completed 2025-26 season. 2. Pulisic Must Find His Attacking Form The striker group pretty much picked itself after Patrick Agyemang tore his Achilles tendon in April, with Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright expected to deputize for presumed starter Folarin Balogun. Still, the key remains winger Christian Pulisic. The Americans need the USA’s undisputed headliner to spearhead their attack at the World Cup if they are to make a deep run. There is concern, though, as Pulisic arrived in New York on Monday after finishing his season with AC Milan on a career-worst 20-game goal drought. Maybe he’s due? 3. Midfielders Have Lots Of Responsibility — And Risk Pochettino went with just four central midfielders in Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Weston McKennie and Cristian Roldan, leaving them worryingly thin in a key area of the pitch. Assuming McKennie occupies the more advanced role he mans with Juventus, the bulk of the defensive duties will fall to Adams, who has been beset by injuries since he captained the U.S. at the last World Cup in Qatar. There’s also the risk that a physical player like Adams could be susceptible to a yellow card suspension in the knockout stage (two accumulated yellows would force a one-game suspension), forcing either Berhalter or Roldan into a starting job. Tessmann or Morris would’ve provided cover in that case, but Pochettino chose to reinforce the wings and defense instead. 4. Are Three Center Backs The Best Defensive Option? Back in March, a source told me that Pochettino was only planning on picking four dedicated center backs for the 26-man squad. Perhaps owing to the uncertain status of Chris Richards’ ankle injury, he ended up taking five. He also stocked the roster with wingers/wing backs/fullbacks — suggesting that the co-hosts will attack up the sides, with the Argentine coach possibly reverting to the three-center-back system he used successfully at times last fall across numerous friendlies. If that’s the case, then look for Richards to pair with 38-year-old Tim Ream alongside someone like Alex Freeman or Mark McKenzie. 5. Historic MLS Union In Goal Whether it was Kasey Keller (1998), Brad Friedel (2002), Keller again (2006), Tim Howard (2010 and 2014), or Matt Turner (2022) — the USA’s top keeper at the always played his club ball overseas. Now, for the first time ever since Major League Soccer was founded in 1996, the starting keeper will be MLS-based. In fact, all three of this team’s goalkeepers will be MLS-based, another first in squad history. NYC FC’s Matt Freese is the expected No. 1 goalkeeper this summer, with Turner relegated to a bench role this time. It’s been a fast ride for the Harvard graduate, who’d never played an international match a year ago. The good news is Turner — who now plays for the New England Revolution — provides World Cup and Premier League experience as an understudy — something none of his backups had four years ago. Rounding out the keeper corps is the 22-year-old Chris Brady, a starter for the Chicago Fire since he was a teenager who is expected to move to Europe after the tournament.