Projecting USA's 2026 World Cup squad: Tillman, Luna leapfrog Reyna post-Gold Cup
Sure, winning the tournament was the priority. After a hastily thrown-together group of Americans — a group that was missing star forward Christian Pulisic and about a dozen other regulars — willed their way to the final before losing a hard-fought match to rival Mexico in front of 71,000 mostly El Tri fans, of course it hurt.
But Pochettino learned an awful lot about his players in June and July — lessons that will help inform the many difficult decisions he must make next May, when the co-hosts' 26-man roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup must be submitted to global soccer's governing body.
Ten months out, who projects to make the cut? Here are our best guesses as things stand today.
Starter: Matt Turner Backups: Matt Freese, Zack SteffenJust missed out: Chris Brady, Diego Kochen, Patrick Schulte, Gaga Slonina
Although Pochettino was determined to give another keeper a look during the Gold Cup — Freese became the beneficiary when Steffen and Schulte withdrew from the squad because of injury — Turner projects to reclaim the No. 1 job. He should at least get the chance: The 2022 World Cup starter is expected to leave Premier League Nottingham Forest for French club Lyon before the Ligue 1 season kicks off next month. Turner, 31, would replace Brazilian Lucas Perri, who has drawn interest from England this summer.
Freese probably played his way onto the 2026 roster at the Gold Cup; his three saves in a shootout win over Costa Rica (and legendary Ticos backstop Keylor Navas) sent the Americans to the semifinals. The third spot is still up for grabs. But the smart money is on veteran Steffen. Had he not been sidelined, the 31-year-old former Manchester City backup would've been Pochettino's Gold Cup pick.
Starters: Sergino Dest, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Antonee "Jedi" RobinsonBackups: Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Walker ZimmermanJust missed out: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally, John Tolkin, Auston Trusty
When the 2022 World Cup ended, few expected then-35-year-old Ream to continue with the USMNT. Almost three years later, nobody else has beaten out the wily left-footed center back for the open spot next to the rock-solid Richards, who was a revelation for the USMNT at the Gold Cup.
That could still happen between now and next summer. As it stands, though, the job belongs to Ream, who served as Poch's captain throughout the regional championship.
Dest and Jedi both missed the Gold Cup while recovering from injury but are clear locks at fullback if healthy. Freeman and Arfsten emerged this summer as their likely understudies a year from now.
Starters: Tyler Adams, Weston McKennieBackups: Johnny Cardoso, Sebastian Berhalter, Yunus Musah, Tanner Tessmann Just missed out: Gianluca Busio, Luca de la Torre, Aidan Morris
For the U.S. to succeed on home soil, they'll need Adams and McKennie on the field. Poch could even reunite those two with Musah, who together formed the impressive "MMA" midfield that shut down pre-tournament favorite England at Qatar 2022. Berhalter is the biggest mover behind them, and the son of former USMNT Gregg Berhalter's accuracy on set-pieces gives him an advantage over the more experienced De la Torre. Lyon's Tessmann should return after being left home for the Gold Cup. Meantime, Cardoso remains an enigma at the international level. An ankle injury limited the 23-year-old box-to-box type to just 10 Gold Cup minutes, but it didn't prevent Spanish titans Atlético Madrid from dropping a $35 million transfer fee on him last week.
Starter: Malik TillmanBackup: Diego Luna Just missed out: Jack McGlynn, Gio Reyna
With three goals in six games, Luna got much of the buzz at the Gold Cup. Not only did Tillman match that production, his quality, maturity and toughness were on display all tournament. There's no reason to think that the 23-year-old won't take that confidence into the European season with new club Bayer Leverkusen, which Tillman joined last week following back-to-back titles (and UEFA Champions League knockout stage appearances) with Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven.
Then there's Reyna. The oft-injured playmaker seems as far away from the USMNT as ever after logging only 12 minutes off the bench during Borussia Dortmund's run at the FIFA Club World Cup. He's made just one cameo under Poch. Multiple European reports have the 22-year-old headed to Italy's Parma, which could be an ideal fit. As it stands today, however, it's obvious that Reyna is on the outside looking in.
Starters: Tim Weah, Christian PulisicBackups: Brenden Aaronson, Haji WrightJust missed out: Paxten Aaronson, Damion Downs, Quinn Sullivan
Even if Pochettino elects not to summon Pulisic for the September friendlies against Japan and South Korea after Pulisic skipped the Gold Cup, the coach and his most irreplaceable player need each other. They'll find a way to get onto the same page in the lead-in to the World Cup, where Pulisic will be front and center for the USMNT.
But the classy, fleet-footed Weah is almost as important on the other side, where he can stretch defenses and open up space for teammates.
As Poch's Gold Cup selections showed, there is a dearth of true wingers in the American player pool after Pulisic and Weah. Wright would've gotten more of a look but left camp with an Achilles problem after scoring in the group stage opener. Still, he's performed under Poch and can also play as a center forward. And while Aaronson doesn't seem to be the coach's cup of tea, there isn't an obvious alternative. While Downs saw more time off the bench in the knockout stage, most of those minutes came in a central role.
Starter: Ricardo PepiBackups: Folarin Balogun, Josh SargentJust missed out: Patrick Agyemang, Brian White
Not only is Pepi fully healthy again following surgery to repair a torn meniscus he suffered after scoring the game-winning goal over Liverpool in a Champions League match last January, he enters the new campaign as PSV's first choice striker following the departure of club legend Luuk de Jong. That's huge for the 22-year-old Texan.
Balogun should also be fit after an injury-plagued 2024-25; an ankle issue forced the Monaco man out of Gold Cup consideration. It's an open race between those two — one Agyemang has been leading with Sargent overlooked by Poch this summer.
But projecting out 10 months, Sargent might have the advantage. Word is he's returning to the German Bundesliga with Wolfsburg, which would be the perfect step up for a player who was the best at his position in England's second tier Championship last season.
Either way, Agyemang's own move comes with significant risk. The rangy (6-foot-4) 24-year-old just left MLS's Charlotte for Derby County — a club that finished 19th in the Championship last term and scored just 48 goals in 46 games — and will surely need time to settle on and off the field.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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