NEW YORK — United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino named his 26-player roster for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, with mainstays Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie headlining the group.
Overall, there are 13 players who were part of the squad that reached the round of 16 at the 2022 World Cup. The remaining 13 players will be taking part in a World Cup for the first time.
This includes performers such as PSV Eindhoven’s Ricardo Pepi, Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards and FC Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson. Pepi was one of the last cuts to the 2022 roster, while Richards and Robinson likely would have made the team had they not been injured.
“We are confident this is the best group of 26 players to help us achieve success at the World Cup,” Pochettino said in a U.S. Soccer release.
“These were very difficult decisions, and we are thankful to all the players who were part of this journey. This group is very focused and ready to give everything they have to represent the United States and deliver performances that will make the fans and the country proud.”
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The U.S., along with co-hosts Canada and Mexico, is hosting the World Cup for the first time since 1994.
ESPN was among multiple outlets that reported the full roster on Saturday after players were informed of Pochettino’s decisions on Friday. It was confirmed Tuesday during an event in New York City.
The roster was largely devoid of surprises, with ESPN’s final USMNT World Roster Big Board containing 25 of the 26 players selected. The only revelation was the omission of Lyon midfielder Tanner Tessmann. Lyon shut Tessmann down for the last several weeks of the club season due to what manager Paulo Fonseca called a “muscle strain.”
The expectation was that Tessmann would be able to recover in time, but Pochettino opted to leave the former FC Dallas and Venezia midfielder off the roster.
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Rather than replace Tessmann with another central midfielder, such as Middlesbrough’s Aidan Morris, Pochettino opted to select Borussia Mönchengladbach defender Joe Scally.
The remaining midfield options include the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Sebastian Berhalter, the son of previous USMNT coach Gregg Berhalter, who now coaches the Chicago Fire. Adams, McKennie and the Seattle Sounders’ Cristian Roldan comprise the remainder of the central midfielders.
Another notable omission was Real Salt Lake attacker Diego Luna. Luna had been viewed as a favorite of Pochettino’s since breaking into the side 16 months ago, including some impressive performances at the 2025 Gold Cup. But Luna’s spot was always in doubt given the form and health of other players.
Pochettino ultimately decided to bring in the likes of Leeds United’s Brenden Aaronson, Gladbach’s Gio Reyna, Club América attacker Alejandro Zendejas and Bayer Leverkusen‘s Malik Tillman and to round out the corps of attackers that includes Pulisic and Marseille’s Tim Weah.
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Reyna’s inclusion contained a hint of controversy given that he played just 163 minutes in league play spread over eight appearances since the start of the calendar year. But such is Reyna’s creativity, and ability to deliver the unexpected, that Pochettino decided to include him in the roster.
The U.S. forward contingent is comprised of three players in excellent form. AS Monaco‘s Folarin Balogun produced 19 goals and four assists across all competitions this season. Haji Wright’s 17 goals for Coventry City were second-most in the English Championship, and helped the Sky Blues gain promotion to the English Premier League. Pepi scored 19 goals across all competitions this season for PSV in the Netherlands’ top tier.
The roster will not become official until it is submitted to FIFA. The deadline for all teams to submit their final squads is June 1. Once the U.S. list is submitted, injured players can be replaced on the roster until 24 hours before the USMNT’s opening match against Paraguay on June 12 in Inglweood, California.
The 26-player roster will hold an average age of 26 years and 332 days, ranking the 2026 roster as the fifth-youngest the United States has sent to a World Cup, on the day of its first game.
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If defender Tim Ream plays against Paraguay, at 38 years and 250 days, he’ll be the oldest to play for the U.S. at a World Cup. Fernando Clavijo had the previous mark at 37 years 162 days. The oldest player to be named to a roster is Frank Moniz at 38 years and 272 days. He was on the 1950 team.
After facing Paraguay, the U.S. will take on Australia in Seattle on June 19 before rounding out the group stage back at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium against Türkiye on June 25.
Before that, the U.S. will play warm-up games against Senegal in Charlotte on Sunday and with Germany in Chicago on June 6.
(3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire, 0 caps/0 goals), Matt Freese (New York City FC, 14/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53/0)
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(10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew, 18/1), Sergiño Dest (PSV, 37/2), Alex Freeman (Villarreal, 15/2), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse, 27/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, 80/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, 36/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, 52/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati, 38/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 24/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic, 6/0)
(4): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth, 52/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus, 64/12), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45/0)
(6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, 57/9), Christian Pulisic (Milan, 84/32), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 36/9), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen, 28/3), Tim Weah (Marseille, 49/7), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América, 13/2)
(3): Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco, 25/8), Ricardo Pepi (PSV, 35/13), Haji Wright (Coventry City, 20/7)
