With the World Cup just more than 330 days away, GOAL looks at how the U.S. squad might look next summer
On Sunday night, he U.S. men's national team played their final competitive match before the World Cup. That was it. A 2-1 loss to Mexico in the Gold Cup final. From here on out, it's just friendlies. From here on out, the build to next summer's tournament feels even more real.
That's the situation facing the players in the USMNT pool fighting to be a part of the 26-man squad at next summer's tournament. Less than a year out, the competition is now more intense than ever. One group of players just finished as runners-up in the Gold Cup, while another group – because of injury, recovery or Club World Cup commitments – watched from home.
But all involved will now be looking to forge a pathway to selection, a chance to represent the U.S. in next year's historic home tournament.
Some spots are all but guaranteed, of course. Despite Mauricio Pochettino's repeated insistence that players, no matter their name, need to earn their spots, several have already been locked in. This summer's run was also a catalyst for multiple U.S. players who took gigantic leaps forward.
History tells us, too, that some spots will be earned in the coming months. World Cup rosters often go down to the final moments, and this one will be no exception.
So who's in and who's out? What are the tough calls Pochettino will have to make? Which youngsters have a realistic shot of making the squad for 2026? GOAL takes a way-too-early look.
Getty ImagesGOALKEEPERS
GOAL's picks: Matt Freese, Zack Steffen, Matt Turner
While much of the U.S. was undergoing a heatwave, for the USMNT goalkeeping competition, this was a summer of Freese. The NYCFC star took over as the No. 1 throughout the Gold Cup. Save for one major mistake in the group stage, he was generally solid, with his stretch of games headlined by his shootout heroics against Costa Rica in the quarterfinals.
Was it enough, though? Is Freese the clear-cut No. 1?
At the moment, the answer is no, as the goalkeeper position remains up for grabs. Turner is certainly still in the mix, and a strong run of games at Lyon – or wherever he lands on the club level – could work wonders. Steffen and Schulte, too, are in the mix, and both could have been starters this summer if not for untimely injuries.
It's all to play for. Any goalkeeper in this mix could find themselves as the No. 1 next summer and, just as crucially, any of them could end up missing out entirely – especially if club situations don't work out.
AdvertisementGetty ImagesDEFENDERS
GOAL's picks: Cameron Carter-Vickers, Sergino Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Joe Scally, Antonee Robinson, Walker Zimmerman
The center-back picture has one clear lock: Richards. Other than that, things are largely up for grabs. At the moment, Ream seems to have the inside track to be Richards' partner after Pochettino put trust in him all summer long. At 38, though, Ream will have to continue to prove himself while holding off both Father Time and the other competitors in the pool.
Fullback, generally, is more clear-cut: if Dest and Antonee Robinson are healthy, they're playing just about every minute. Backups, then, are the talking point. Scally is interesting because he can play on the right, the left or as a third center-back while also serving as a good option to close out a game when the U.S. is nursing a lead.
The problem is, though, that playing Scally over either Dest or Robinson requires a change in system, one less reliant on fullbacks bombing forward. Freeman, in that case, is the more clear like-for-like replacement, at least on that right-hand side, having shown over the summer that, while he still has room to grow, he's can hold his own.
Getty Images SportMIDFIELDERS
GOAL's picks: Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Diego Luna, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman
The most significant Gold Cup lesson for this group came via Tillman, who moved from the "probably" to the "definitely" category in terms of World Cup options. The PSV star played, well, like a star this summer, finally showcasing his skills in a USMNT shirt. Luna, too, is inching closer to "lock" territory, even if he struggled in the Gold Cup final against Mexico.
The competition for the No. 8 spots is fierce, though. Tessmann was left out of the squad, but is clearly talented enough to be in the team going forward. So, too, is Cardoso, who saw his summer derailed by injuries that prevented him from answering his critics.
There are interesting options aplenty after this Gold Cup, namely Berhalter and De la Torre, both of whom had good summers. The question is if they can make up ground on the European contingent, which, at the moment, seems challenging.
And then there's the elephant in the room: Reyna. Until he plays consistent minutes somewhere, Reyna can't be considered a member of this group. A lot can change in a year but, at the moment, there are just too many players with better claims than he has.
IMAGNFORWARDS
GOAL's picks: Patrick Agyemang, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Haji Wright
Four of these players are, if healthy, no doubters. Yes, Pulisic earned criticism for skipping the Gold Cup but, make no mistake, he's in. Weah's club future is uncertain, but he's in. Pepi and Balogun have had injury issues but, when both are healthy, they are far and away the best strikers in the pool. Pencil them in, too.
So, where does Pochettino go with that last spot? Right now, it seems to lean towards Agyemang, who is young and now has USMNT experience under his belt. Was this a perfect Gold Cup? No. Was it a great one? Also no. However, anyone who watched with a keen eye saw that there are certain things that Agyemang can do and – while he won't be leapfrogging Balogun and Pepi – he could be useful at a World Cup.
Wide play, though, could be an issue, which could lead to someone such as Wright making the team – or even someone such as Paredes, if he can get his fitness in order. Even now, nearly a year since his arrival, we've still yet to see Pochettino work with a full-strength attack, making these spots the least predictable of all in some ways.
