How USMNT’s World Cup roster outlook changes after Gold Cup standouts emerge

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There are two different conversations regarding what the U.S. men’s national team will look like following this summer’s Gold Cup. The first is about the roster we will see in September; the second is regarding the team that will represent the U.S. at next summer’s World Cup.

U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino seemed chastened by a question about reintegrating the “star” players of the American men’s program after Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final.

“You already made the list?” Pochettino responded when asked about bringing back players like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest. “Or you ask artificial intelligence and you do the roster for next time?”

“I don’t understand that question. Because for different [reasons], we have the roster that we have. All the American players have the possibility for September to be on the roster. It’s up to us now to analyze, but all the names you told me, all are under scrutiny, and we are following them.

“It’s still one year from the World Cup. But now we need to build a roster for September. And yes, we need to analyze every single player, see the circumstances, the situations, performance, fitness level. Don’t worry. We are people that are very open, and not closed. And who deserves to be (there) will be (there).”

It’s a strong possibility we see the 11 players who started three straight knockout games for the U.S. in September’s friendlies against South Korea and Japan. Pochettino has been consistent in rewarding players that he believes buy what he is selling and earn his trust. He spoke about it multiple times with players like Diego Luna and Patrick Agyemang getting reps with the U.S. team after January camp.

So if you’re doing roster bingo for September, expect to see Matt Freese, Max Arfsten, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Alex Freeman, Tyler Adams, Luca de la Torre, Luna, Malik Tillman, Sebastian Berhalter and Agyemang on the squad.

Pochettino, rightly, will challenge other U.S. players to “win back” their starting jobs. It goes back to something Pochettino said ahead of the Turkey game some 40 days ago.

“My first conversation we are going to have on (June 1) when we are all together is: ‘Listen, guys. You have the possibility to defend your place. When you are now in the national team, it is not because you are here to try to replace people that (are) sure that (they are) going to be here. No, you have the possibility to defend your place. How you are going to defend your place, that is the important thing for us. You need to fight, you need to show attitude, the right attitude, but not only that, perform, and be brave, and follow the rules that we set in the group,’” Pochettino said. “I think it is really important for us. And of course they need to know that they … are going to compete in a fair way with different people that maybe are not involved today in this squad.”

Pochettino told us the next steps. These players will now have a chance to “defend their place.” Over the next few windows, however, Pochettino has to get all of his best players into the fold, repair relationships and lean on quality. And that’s when the roster that we see in September evolves into the squad we’ll see represent the country on home soil at the 2026 World Cup.

With that said and the U.S.’s last tournament dress rehearsal in the rear-view mirror, here is my predicted 26-man World Cup roster (and yes, I’m assuming that FIFA will allow for 26 players). For comparison sake, this is what we had prior to the Gold Cup.

Goalkeepers

Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen, Matt Turner 

Someone has to step up at this position. Matt Freese didn’t sell me that he can be a World Cup-caliber goalkeeper, his penalty heroics vs. Costa Rica notwithstanding. We’ll see if any of the younger options step up this year, but I think it’ll be Turner-Steffen 1-2 in the pecking order come next summer. Experience will matter (so, too, will health and playing time, which the selected trio here are all combatting).

Defenders

Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Joe Scally, Antonee Robinson, Walker Zimmerman

Freeman performed well enough to make the roster, and I think Arfsten’s inability to defend against Concacaf opponents opened the door for Scally to be on this roster. He is limited going forward, but ultimately you need defenders who can defend. Center back remains a big trouble area for this group.

Midfielders

Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Luca de la Torre, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman

Let’s not get caught up going too deep into the depth chart for the World Cup. Adams, Cardoso, McKennie, Musah and Tillman will be expected to play the minutes next summer.

Attackers

Folarin Balogun, Diego Luna, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Josh Sargent, Tim Weah, Haji Wright

Winger for me is a massive black hole beyond Pulisic and Weah. Luna can play inverted, but the U.S. has few options to look at for players who can stretch a back line. For now, Wright gets the spot. At the World Cup level, you need strikers who can compete physically and have a presence in front of goal.

After the Gold Cup, you cannot convince me that Agyemang is a better choice than Sargent. I keep going back to U.S.-Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup round of 16, when injuries forced Jesús Ferreira into the starting lineup. Sargent performed admirably against Wales, helping to set up the goal, and in the other U.S. games. The Gold Cup was a missed opportunity to build his confidence and get him some goals. At the World Cup next summer, I lean on quality and experience. Agyemang just didn’t convince me. If you want a big body late in the games, you have Wright.

(Top photo: Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)