Mauricio Pochettino revealed his 2026 FIFA World Cup roster on Tuesday and similarly to some of his past camps in charge, the Argentine focused on picking the right players to represent the U.S. men’s national team.
U.S. Soccer announced Pochettino’s 26-player roster for the summer competition, which will begin in 17-days time on North American soil. Star players Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams and Chris Richards were among the inclusions while players such as Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Zendejas and Folarin Balogun will all be making their World Cup debuts.
Players were reportedly notified of their roster status on Friday May 22, four days before the announcement was made by U.S. Soccer in part of a Live FOX broadcast from Manhattan.
As most of the USMNT’s European contingent concluded their club campaigns this past weekend overseas, Pochettino admitted that him and his coaching staff still needed to evaluate things before Tuesday’s announcement.
“With all of the information we had received, we were working with different things and waiting until the last day to make our decisions,” Pochettino told reporters during a press conference from New York. “I think we had an idea and it wasn’t changing 20 or so players, but we were seeing, analyzing and assessing all of the situations before we decided on the 26 players on the roster.
“Similar to what other national team coaches do, we had to think in all of the aspects and get advice from the medical staffs from all of the clubs too,” he added. “My assessment was to how to get the right balance in the 26 and to have the right players on the roster. It’s painful when you don’t make the roster, I didn’t make the rosters before and it is a tough moment so we want to care for the players because that is what is most important.”
Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna, Lyon’s Tanner Tessmann, and Atletico Madrid’s Johnny Cardoso were among the players left out of the World Cup roster despite previously featuring under Pochettino during his time as head coach. Tessmann, who missed the final few weeks of Lyon’s domestic season in France, was expected to be available for duty after a slight ankle injury ended his campaign prematurely.
Pochettino was asked about Tessmann’s absence in particular but believed it would be disrespectful to talk about players not in the roster, especially given the importance of the moment.
“I think we cannot talk about the players that are not in the roster because I said it’s very disrespectful to the players that made the roster,” Pochettino said. “That was my decision to pick the 26 and now we need to respect it. From the beginning we have been working really hard for over one year to train and arrive in this moment and be here in the best condition possible.
“It is impossible to be fair with everyone but it is about being competitive in the squad,” Pochettino added. “If I include one, you will then ask me about another, but I have to respect the players and not talk about why the decisions were made. We have different criteria for all of the players and I think that this group is the right 26 players for the squad.”
25 of the 26 players named to the roster were in New York for the announcement, with Chris Richards missing out due to Crystal Palace’s involvement in Wednesday’s UEFA Conference League Final in Leipzig, Germany. Richards, who missed the Eagles’ Premier League finale on Sunday against Arsenal, did return to training on Tuesday and could start in Oliver Glasner’s squad against La Liga club Rayo Vallecano.
For the rest of the USMNT squad, they will next head down to Atlanta for the beginning of camp before pre-World Cup friendlies against Senegal and Germany. Senegal will oppose the Americans in Charlotte, North Carolina on Sunday before Germany awaits them in Chicago, Illinois on June 6.
Pochettino will hope to keep his full squad fresh ahead of their World Cup opener against Paraguay on June 12 and should have an early idea of who is 100% as training camp begins.
“We don’t know,” Pochettino said about Richards’ status and availability. “We see tomorrow if he plays and then we will decide. We have time before the World Cup to start making changes if needed.
“I cannot guess my lineups because we need to train tomorrow and see the level of the players,” he added. “We have all of the references from all of the clubs, but the most important thing is we will be at our new amazing training ground and see how everyone looks. Our medical staff and performance group will be working in a fantastic way to try and keep everyone up to speed. I think we have the experience and the capacity to make the best decisions for Team USA, the country, the players and our fans. The players want to perform, create good memories, and ensure that when you are watching that our team is playing.”