USMNT – The Road to WC 2026 Begins in Earnest

The FIFA competitive window starts today with most players called in to national team duty catching flights back to their respective countries late Saturday or yesterday. Typically the USMNT has announced their roster several days in advance but not this time saying it wouldn’t be released until yesterday. And of course the internet exploded with all kinds of rumors why that would be the case. Most centered around an announcement that they were calling in a new dual national. Alas that wasn’t the case at all. Perhaps they just waited to announce it so as not to snake bite any players who had matches Saturday or Sunday. Unfortunately that strategy didn’t work. Seems like every window a US player gets hurt in their last game before the window and it happened again Saturday. Striker/Winger Haji Wright actually scored a goal but later in his match he twisted and ankle and was removed from the roster. Sheesh we just can’t catch a break. But you move on and in this case this window is really important for a several key reasons.

1. While Mauricio Pochettino was appointed as the coach on September 10 and did manage the club for the friendlies in October (2-0 win over Panama then a 2-0 loss at Mexico), the player roster for that camp was very limited due to several factors. Given it was his first camp with what most felt was a B/C Team, the results were about what was expected. But the expectations are much higher this time around.
2. These two matches are home and away with Jamaica and crucial to advancing to the CONCACAF Nations League finals next March. No mulligans this week. They need to win in aggregate.
3. WC 2026 is barely 1 1/2 years away. Since the US auto qualifies as a host there are just limited competitive matches between now and then. Only so many opportunities for Poch to learn the players and develop the best game plan for 2026. In fact there are only two competitions left prior to the WC. This current Nations League and next summers CONCACAF Gold Cup so every match is big. And that all starts this week with this roster. Note that only 24 players can be game day rostered for the matches which isn’t a big deal here. Clearly whomever ends up as keeper #4 will be out.

U.S. MEN’S NATIONAL TEAM – NOVEMBER TRAINING CAMP ROSTER

GOALKEEPERS (4): Diego Kochen (FC Barcelona Atletic/ESP; 0/0), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew; 2/0), Zack Steffen (Colorado Rapids; 29/0), Matt Turner (Crystal Palace/ENG; 47/0)

DEFENDERS (7): Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 15/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 64/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 23/1), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG; 48/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 30/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 17/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 3/0)

MIDFIELDERS (8): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 46/8), Gianluca Busio (Venezia/ITA; 15/1), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis/ESP; 17/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 56/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 9/0), Yunus Musah (AC Milan; ITA; 43/1), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 4/0), Malik Tillman (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 16/0)

FORWARDS (6): Cade Cowell (Guadalajara/MEX; 10/1),Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 31/11), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 74/31), Brandon Vazquez (Monterrey/MEX; 9/4), Tim Weah (Juventus/ITA; 41/6), Alex Zendejas (Club América/MEX; 9/1)

But even with this roster which is much improved over the one available in October its still quite shy of what most would view as the Best Xl. Lets look at that Best XI and what is likely our starting XI for Thursday’s match down in Jamaica,

Best XI:

Likely Starting XI Thursday:

As you can see although this lineup is still solid and strong enough to handle Jamaica its not close to 100%. Chris Richards has just returned from injury and is available but probably not in a starting role. Tyler Adams has just returned to playing and is not ready to travel and play two matches close together. Sergino Dest is still injured. Flo Balogun and Haji Wright are both still injured. Gio Reyna is still out a few more weeks. And Tim Weah is suspended for the  first match (expect to see him start the second match).

With this roster lets take a quick look at the position groups and dissect where the strengths and weaknesses lie going into these next two matches.

Goalkeepers

Clearly the #1 right now is Matt Turner. The good news is that he played very well in the two October matches. The bad news is the same thing I have been harping on for several years now. Keepers need to be playing to stay sharp. And Turner just mostly rides the pine for Crystal Palace (EPL) having played in one League Cup so far this season. Its a recurring theme for him every since he left MLS. Sooner or later this is going to come back to bite the US team. Hopefully he gets a permanent move either this winter or next summer to a club where he gets significant playing time. The issue from his perspective is that likely means moving down to the English Championship or back to MLS both being likely pay cuts.  For me, I would like to see Patrick Schulte get a start this week. He has shown plenty with the Columbus Crew this season and is ready to up his game.

Outside Backs

A strong position group for sure. Antonee Robinson is one of the top LBs in the EPL and while Joe Scally is not at the Sergino Dest level he is a solid defender. He is ok going forward but not near the danger of Dest, Still this is a strong group. There are some younger guys who are becoming ready for the international game and could factor in for 2026.

Center Backs

This is a tough group to handicap. All of them are solid and capable of playing at the international level but they are not without their warts.

Tim Ream is still solid but he clearly has started to lose a step but his ability to pass out of the back is still strong. Hard to see him as a starter in 2026 but time will tell. Chris Richards is probably the strongest overall player of the bunch but he has to get fit and stay that way to take over as the man in the middle. Mark MacKenzie plays mostly very well but, and its a big but, he’s been prone to making major errors when playing for the Nats. He has the talent but he has to clean up the mistakes or he’s too risky at the WC. Miles Robinson brings speed to the middle of the back line and that is always a good thing. He just needs to move to Europe soon to get exposed to tougher levels of play on a consistent basis. I think the talent is there for him.

Defensive Midfielder

The potential to be very strong at the next WC. Tyler Adams is still the #1 here but Johnny Cardoso, Aidan Morris, and Gianluca Busio are all solid replacements.  Cardoso probably adds the most box to box ability, Morris the overall best defender, and Busio the overall best attacker. This gives you a lot of flexibility depending on the opponent and game situation. I suspect Cardoso to start the away match but any of these guys would be fine.

Midfield

Clearly our strongest group at the international level. Weston McKennie and Yunas Musah are both very strong in the middle of the field. Wes adds more offensive bite but Musah is better dribbling out of trouble. If Musah can figure out how the be a factor in the final third he will become a very valuable commodity! Malik Tillman has been a top player in the Dutch league but so far that has not transferred to the USMNT. Hopefully Pochettino can unlock his talent with the US side. Brenden Aaronson is the enegizer bunny on steroids. He has a motor that just won’t quit. And he is very good at setting up attacks if he can stay on his feet. He is slight of frame and tends to get knocked off the ball too easily. Still he’s a good tool to have especially when Weah and Reyna are both out. His ability to play as a winger or attacking midfielder is really good depth.

Forward/Wingers

If you haven’t been paying attention to Europe this season lets just say Christian Pulisic is really thriving in Italy. The staff at Milan really likes Puli and they give him lots of freedom to roam in the attack and his scoring has benefited greatly. He has tallied 5 goals and 3 assists in 11 overall matches this season. That’s good stuff. On the other side of the field is Tim Weah. Weah is suspended for the first match (second of two game suspension for striking a player at last summers COPA America), but he most likely starts the second match. The question will be where. Wing (and which side) or wingback. He is so dangerous down the wing and the US attack isn’t near as strong wide without him. Gio Reyna is still out with an injury. When he does get back he really needs to get out of Dortmund and go someplace where he will get significant playing time in 2025 if he’s going to factor in at the WC. Cade Cowell has the body and speed you love to see in an attacker. He’s still young but he needs to really show well when he gets a callup. Maybe this is the one. And much like Cowell, Alex Zendejas is really on the cusp of the Nats. He gets called in when there are injury or availability issues with guys ahead of him but he, as of yet, has just not played well in the US jersey.

Strikers

This is a really odd group. Several players who are good enough at the international level but none of them have put it all together and become a star. Folarin Balogun is the usual starting #9 but he’s injured. Josh Sargent (who started several matches at WC 2022 and played well) is also hurt. Then Haji Wright got a start for his club team last weekend and scored a wonderful goal only to get hurt later in the match. So its up to Ricardo Pepi. Now the good news is that Pepi is a very capable scorer and usually manages to put his shots on frame. He’ll get the start this Thursday. Lets see if he can find the winner.

Coach

For years fans of the USMNT have wanted a top coach. Not an up and comer. Not an older on the way out. Not an internal option just because. Well we got him. Mauricio Pochettino is simply a world class coach and has coached some of the best clubs in the game (Tottenham, Chelsea, and PSG). And there is plenty of time for him to instill whatever tactics he thinks best fit the US player pool. He will have them ready for 2026. Trust me on this one. Of course we want to see results along the way by don’t lose the big picture here. Everything he does for the next 18 months is aimed at June 2026.

Both of the away and home Jamaica matches will be shown on TNT, Tru TV, and the Peacock streaming service. The match in Jamaica will be Thursday November 14th at 8 EST and the home match will be in St. Louis on Monday November 18th also at 8 EST. Enjoy and lets go boys!!!