The Reported USMNT World Cup Squad And What It Says About Pochettino

So much for a big announcement on Fox TV on Tuesday.

After several leaks regarding individual inclusions or omissions first surfaced late this week, The Guardian on Saturday published what it said was manager Mauricio Pochettino’s 2026 USMNT World Cup squad in full, according to multiple sources.

Here’s the 26-player squad below, according to British outlet that has employed two full-time American-based soccer reporters since earlier this spring.

Remember, even if all the names are 100% accurate today, that doesn’t mean they won’t change before June 1 based on potential late-developing injury information and other factors.

Leaked USMNT Squad

Goalkeepers (3)

Chris Brady (Chicago Fire, 0 caps/0 goals), Matt Freese (New York City, 14/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53/0)

Defenders (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)

Midfielders (4)

Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth, 52/2), Sebastian Berhalter* (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus, 64/12), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45/0)

Attacking midfielders/wingers (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)

Strikers (3)

Folarin Balogun* (AS Monaco, 25/8), Ricardo Pepi* (PSV, 35/13), Haji Wright (Coventry City, 20/7)

Source: The Guardian

As always with these sorts of things, there are a few surprises, among them the omission of defensive midfielder Tanner Tessman and attacker Diego Luna, and the inclusion of attacking midfielders Alejandro Zendejas and Gio Reyna.

With the official information still under embargo, Pochettino obviously has yet to explain the selections publicly. But we can guess several things about his thought process based on the players included.

More Questions Than Answers?

One of the most striking realizations is just how much this list of names cuts against the grain of the Pochettino’s regular squad selections over his one-and-a-half years in charge. The simplest conclusion is that those selections simply haven’t yielded the results he hoped for.

That’s the easiest way to explain how a player like Luna, who has made 17 appearances and 10 starts for Pochettino, could be left out while Reyna, who made five appearances and one start over the same span, could be included.

Even though Reyna has the superior technical and club pedgiree, he brings enormous questions over his durability, lack of athleticism and impact on team chemistry that Luna does not. He’s also played far fewer minutes at the club level of late, even with Luna starting the 2026 MLS season with a minor knee issue.

So it’s hard to call the selection of Reyna anything other than a ‘feel’ pick, since there’s almost no data from his previous contributions suggesting he’s been the superior player in the USMNT shirt.

You might say the same about Pochettino’s Tessman omission after Tessman played in the last six USMNT friendly fixtures and started three. In that case, it’s also possible a recent muscle strain also influenced Pochettino’s thinking.

Back Three Ready

Meanwhile, the inclusion of six players who are capable of playing center back probably confirms what USMNT observers have believed for the better part of a year, that Pochettino is likely to field a back three/back five formation for a considerable chunk of the tournament.

The Americans opted to start in a 3-4-3 for the final five matches of 2025, in which they improved their form considerably, earning four wins and a draw against opposition that will also be in the 2026 World Cup field.

Then in March against Belgium and Portugal – an incramental step up in class from those fall contests – Pochettino experimented with reverting to a 4-2-3-1 that has been his comfort zone for most of his managerial career, and it failed pretty decisively.

This doesn’t mean Pochettino’s squad will employ a 3-4-3 for every game. But the squad selection shows he clearly believes it needs to be a tactical option for him, even in games where he might be limited one or two center backs with potential minor knocks or card suspensions.

The Pochettino We Know

Lastly, this squad list suggests Pochettino is likely to lean into the main prinicples of his aggressive, transition-minded tactical identity that has defined most of his club managerial career, rather than adopt a more cautious approach for what can be the cagey stage of international football.

The inclusion of only one true defensive midfielder in Tyler Adams and several more attacking-minded options is the clearest sign of this. One gets the feeling that if Adams is unavailable, Pochettino may simply opt to try and outscore opponents rather than ask anyone else to fill in his customary No. 6 role.

That mirros his CV in the European club game, with stops at Southampton, Espanyol, Tottenham, Paris St.-Germain and Chelsea. And you probably can’t blame Pochettino for sticking with what he knows, given that it won him club legend status at Spurs, where he reached a UEFA Champions League final in 2019.

But it also has born less fruit recently, even if his departure from Chelsea following the 2023-24 season came just as he appeared to be building momentum and winning supporters. And the risks are pretty clear, exposed time and again in the 5-2 March loss to Belgium in particular.