2026 World Cup/Copa America Preview

The most important and most watched sporting event in the world, the Soccer World Cup, approaches. It kicks off in Dallas, Texas on June 11th, 2026. Canada and Mexico will also be hosting games. As we are almost exactly 2 years out, and the Copa America kicks off this weekend, it’s a good time to check in on the state of the roster and the players on it. It’s a great time for soccer in the United States. The team is as talented as it’s ever been, players are succeeding at all levels. MLS continues to draw talent high in Name ID while FINALLY getting around to helping grow the sport at the youth level around the country (despite Don Garber’s best attempts at not doing this).

This summer we will see two major soccer competitions highlighting this talent.

The Copa America hosted here in the US of A from June 20th - July 14th and the Summer Olympics.

The Copa is a very competitive international tournament typically hosted by a South American nation. (in global soccer this region is known CONMEBOL, the United States' region including North and Central America is called CONCACAF) This year CONCACAF is sending 6 teams (USA, Mexico, Costa Rica, Panama, Canada and Jamaica) to match up against the 10 CONMEBOL teams. This will be where the first team USMNT players will be playing. Official roster link here.

ADDITIONALLY as I'm sure some non soccer sports fans know, the Summer Olympics are happening in Paris this year. Olympic Soccer is a little different then your traditional big name tournament and has some goofy rules. All players must be under 23 years of age, except for three players, who can be whoever you want them to be. Typically the very high level U23s skip this tournament, it's often considered a place for the fringe players or up and comers to get a spot with some veterans who are a little further down the first team pecking order. I wouldn't call it a group of cast offs, but it's not usually the 100% best talent available, and as you'll see with the Copa roster many of our best u23's will already be playing with the first team.

Even better than that, we’re going to host a goddamn World Cup (with Mexico and Canada) on the 250th anniversary of this country, and we have a legitimate chance of going very far in it. This Long Form Blog Post (?) serves as a list of all players who we could see in the World Cup. It's an opportunity to check in and see where we are. I’ve included comparisons to other athletes from other sports (mostly basketball and football) to help keep the attention of the young folks who might wander into this blog by accident and are interested in learning more about soccer and our players. Additionally, I have hidden a little treat for you, the reader, somewhere in the hyperlinks of this blog, as a little reward for spending the time and energy to read something longer than a podcast recap. Have fun! 

Gregg Berhalter  - Jim McElwain

It’s hard to compare coaches from different sports, especially national team coaches. It’s a very different kettle of fish. A college football coach is probably the closest you can get to describing what Berhalter does in the day to day. A defensive minded coach with a good recruiting record and some shaky performances, Gregg Berhalter is much maligned by many members of the online fanbase. In my personal opinion, Gregg is about a B-. On defense the team has always been organized, and we’ve had a LOT of success bringing in highly coveted dual nationals, players who are eligible for more than one national team. I think the dual national recruiting is a bit forgotten but Berhalter deserves at least partial credit for the inclusion of, among others, Antonee Robinson, Sergino Dest, Folarin Balogun, Yunus Musah, Brandon Vazquez, Johnny Cardoso, Alejandro Zendejas, Diego Luna, Cade Cowell, Ricardo Pepi, Malik Tillman, and Jordan Pefok. The culture within the team is strong and he has absolutely held even the highest level most talented players appropriately accountable. For this he receives almost no credit at all from pundits and accounts like USMNTGioStan on x.com the everything app.

On the other hand, we’ve seen Berhalter cling onto some veteran MLS guys like Cristian Roldan, Gyassi Zardes, Aaron Long, Paul Arriola, the legend Sebastian Lletget and Jordan Morris for much longer than he should’ve. We’ve also seen some truly disappointing offensive performances against weaker opponents and on set pieces. Tactically it’s a legitimate question if he’s up to the task on the offensive end. We’ve consistently struggled to get strikers involved and scoring. He’s feuded with John Brooks and sent Duane Holmes home from camp, both never to be seen again in a USMNT jersey. He spoke much too publicly about Gio Reyna at the World Cup, and was blackmailed by his parents. He was wrong to talk about Gio, he’s said so publicly, and to Gio. But he was right, in my opinion, to move on from John Brooks and Duane Holmes. He was wrong (in my opinion) to not call in Ricardo Pepi to the world cup after being the only guy scoring goals consistently in Qualifying as a striker, but it wasn’t the reason we lost to the Netherlands in the Round of 16. The United States has never had enough talent to legitimately compete for a World Cup, but they’ve consistently played well in big moments, and up to the level of anyone put in front of them. They’ve dusted our biggest rival Mexico, so completely during his tenure, that the Mexican soccer federation has had to start over, twice.

Ultimately it's time to shit or get off the pot with Gregg. A poor showing at the Copa, with groundwork laid by a truly terrible friendly against Columbia earlier this month, should be all the proof we need that the team is not progressing. In general I've been more of a Berhalter defender than a Berhalter hater but we're 6 years in, there's no signature win that isn't against the worst teams Mexico has fielded in decades, and dual national recruiting/vibes isn't enough to keep this going. The 2026 World Cup is a HUGE chance to upgrade the popularity of Soccer in this country, and we aren't going to do that by eeking out a tie and a win in the group stage and then getting smoked by a Euro power in the round of 16.

A NOTE ABOUT GOALIES

Talking about goalies is hard. A lot of what determines a good and bad goalie mathematically can be pretty dull and the only natural analogy to a soccer goalie would be a hockey goalie. Personally i don’t really watch hockey, I know very little about hockey players, and it would be in bad faith for me to attempt to glean wisdom about who they are and what they do from a stat sheet and a bleacher report article from 2014. 

THE STARTERS

Players in this category are locked in as either starters or, the first up fill in for injuries or unreleased players. You’ll notice that pretty much every starting spot is filled unless something drastic changes the equation, like the inclusion of Luca Koleosho, or a sudden rise in form from one of the very young goalies in the pool, or Tim Ream’s decline in form due to age. 

Matt Turner - 29 - GK Nottingham Forest

I don’t want to say that Matt Turner is the starting Goalie by default, that isn’t fair to Matt Turner who is a good starting goalie, but historically Goalie has been the place where the United States has always managed to churn out world class players, and I don’t think Matt Turner is that. In modern soccer, goalies are expected to both save the ball and act as a fulcrum for recycled possession. Distributing out of the back to the wing defenders or the midfield (a sweeping generality here let’s move past it), and Matt Turner is bad at this. He’s just bad at it. It’s put a ceiling on his game, and his career. After being one of the greatest shot stoppers in the history of MLS, Matt Turner moved to Arsenal to be the backup for Bernd Leno and play cup games. He then made a move to Nottingham Forest who spent like 40 million dollars on 2 other goalies the same season (and no money on defenders, but again, let’s move past it). He hasn’t been on the field as much as you’d like your starting goalie to be, and we're starting to see it in his game. As we’ll see below, the competition is a few years away, and Matt Turner IS a very good shot stopper, when he's right.

Sergino Dest - 23, Right Back PSV (On Loan from Barcelona ((For Now))

Kyrie Irving

INJURED - Won't Play at Copa or Olympics

Maybe my favorite player to watch. A true D20 dice roll of a player. At times, an incredibly skilled on ball player, who’s as threatening as any defender going forward, and at others, a player whose emotions gets him kicked out of CONCACAF Nations League games in spectacular fashion. An extremely silky dribbler on the ball who gets beat on defense more than you’d want. When he’s on, he’s a blast and he does stuff no one else can do. A bit of an enigma. Best social media presence on the team. 

Tim Ream - 36, Central Defender Fulham FC

Andre Iguodala in 2021/David Justice in Moneyball

One last ride for this old cowboy. Tim Ream is a winning soccer player and an on the field coach. Beloved by coaches and teammates and a gifted left footed passer as a centerback. No defensive player in the pool can surpass Ream in this. What Ream lacks is dynamic pace. He will struggle against pacier attackers. But against other teams he’s a great fit, specifically when we play against smaller CONCACAF teams like Honduras, St Kitts and Nevis or Mexico, his ability to break lines with passing is necessary. He’ll be 38 when the 2026 World Cup kicks off.

Chris Richards - 24, Central Defender Crystal Palace FC

Jalen Duran

Unique playmaking for his position. A young defender with potential to be The Guy on the back line, but still a year maybe two away. Sometimes makes defensive mistakes you wouldn’t expect from someone with his profile, but will sometimes do things you wouldn’t expect a center back to do going forward. Has played as a defensive midfielder for Premier League side Crystal Palace at times this year and has been, not bad! Ultimately the mistakes need to start buffing out if he’s going to take a step to the next level, it’s time, but his ability to play out of the back will always make him an appealing option. 

Cameron Carter-Vickers  26, Central Defender Celtic FC

Isaiah Stewart

A beef stick of a human being. CCV will most likely be included on any final roster assuming he’s healthy, which isn’t always a given. The question will be, does CCV start or is he the third center back. He’s been very good against the CONCACAF teams, he puts them on lockdown, but he has struggled against better competition. An okay passer out of the back, not great.

Antonee Robinson - 26, Left Back Fulham FC

Tariq Woolen

An absolute blur of an athlete. A player with world class straight line speed who has developed into a solid defensive player and one of the better left backs in the soccering world. Great at getting forward, and able to make some serious plays on that end of the field. The A1 Lock It In Starting Left Back if Healthy for the USMNT. A minutes eater for both club and country. Occasionally makes mistakes but now entering his prime has cut down on those significantly for Fulham and the USMNT. 

Weston McKennie - 25, Center Midfielder (also Right Wingback, Attacking Midfielder, Left Midfielder) for Juventus

Draymond Green if he took therapy seriously, 

A five tool player and an emotional spark plug for the team. Wes really can do it all. He’s played probably every position on a soccer field professionally at one point or another. Has had some immature moments early in his career (who among us), and has disappointed the country of Italy with some of his ideas about food (WHO AMONG US) but he has become possibly the best player on the team at this exact moment. Has had to work for it at every point of his career and through sheer horsepower and grit has succeeded. He’ll score, assist, be dangerous on set pieces, tackle hard, run the length of the field in the 94th minute, whatever you need, Wes will make it happen. 

Tyler Adams - 25, Defensive Midfielder Bournemouth FC

110th Percentile PJ Tucker

A guy you want on your team if you’re trying to win difficult games. What he does, doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet, but frequently shows up on the heat map. An ass ache to play against, he gobbles up any loose play in the midfield and resets possession. An unstoppable motor, high leverage tackler and the captain of the team, who eeeeeevery once in a while shows you an absolute banger. A true dog among dogs, the captain of the team. 

Yunus Musah - 21, Central Midfielder AC Milan

Shaedon Sharpe

A player who has the ability to make you go “whoa.” Sometimes it seems the ceiling is infinite, like when he takes on 3 players in midfield and runs right by them, effortlessly. Then sometimes you wonder if he’s ever going to put it all together, like when he tries to take on the 4th player and ends up losing the ball, or goes full hero mode instead of finding the easy assist. Only 21, there’s time and he’s in a really nice club situation as the first guy off the bench in a slightly injury prone AC Milan midfield. He needs to continue to grow and tidy up his game. Needs to become more of a central midfielder and less of a converted winger.  But there are moments where he is absolutely physically dominant in a way few players his age are able to be. The future is very bright here.

Gio Reyna - 21,  Attacking Midfielder/Winger Nottingham Forest (On Loan from Borussia Dortmund)

Penny Hardaway

Pound for pound the most naturally gifted player in the pool right now, and maybe in the history of the USMNT. An offensive lock pick that gashes defenses with creative passes and stuns with world class goal scoring instincts. It’s up for debate how much of this is Gio’s fault, but controversy tends to find him. Whether it’s his Dad’s relationship with the coach, his constant injuries, or his slightly mystifying loan to the Premier League where he played very little, Gio brings baggage. But what he also brings, is a complete lack of fear in any moment and a danger that few in the history of the team have been able to conjure.

Timothy Weah - 24, Winger/Wingback Juventus 

Keegan Murray

A winning player with a nice burst of pace and two way skills, Timothy is the son of a real life King, and former Ballon d’Or winner George Weah. Tim has some crafty moves and has always been better as a USMNT player than a club player, and I think we might be finding out where the ceiling is. At the tippy top highest levels of club play he might be the 12th or 13th guy. Which isn’t bad!!!! He’s struggled to consistently get on the field with Juventus, in a similar way to how he would sometimes struggle to get on the field for a strong French side, Lille, a few years ago. He’s fought off his share of injuries and made a lot of plays. This year he has converted to a wingback roll for Juve, playing a little more defense but still getting forward in breaks and that has been……fine. The competition for the starting right wing spot goes through Timmy.

Christian Pulisic - 25, Left Winger AC Milan

Blake Griffin

The single greatest American soccer prospect of all time, who has, by every reasonable metric, succeeded in becoming the prince that was promised. A capital E Explosive athlete early in his career, blowing through the best defenses in the world in the highest level games. Coming out of COVID lockdown for Project Restart he was one of the best looking players in the world. But he’s dealt with a series of ankle and knee and hamstring injuries over his time as a professional soccer player that have cost him that extra 2% quickness that made him special. He’s changed his game in the second act of his career by becoming an incredibly lethal finisher, playmaker and I think a very serious person who feels the pressure to lay it all on the line for the USMNT. He’s finally found a really healthy club situation in AC Milan and he’s racking up a large amount of goal contributions. When he figures out how to do a corner kick in a way that beats the first defender he’ll REALLY be putting up numbers.

Folarin Balogun - 22, Striker Monaco

Franz Wagner

A jack of all trades master of none, with good size, speed, quickness, strength, flair, hold up ability, finishing ability, passing, and willingness to press. A goal scoring machine with Reims last year, he’s had a difficult year with both the national team and Monaco. I believe in the talent, and the pedigree, Balogun was a sought after player after spending many years with Arsenal. Even during a down year, the underlying numbers are fine, and the talent level is so high, there’s, in my opinion, very little chance we don’t see Balogun lacing them up as the starting striker in the 2026 World Cup. 

SPOT STARTER/LOCKED IN ROTATION PLAYER

Players in this category are very likely to be on the 23 man roster for the World Cup, but likely in a supporting roll. They may start every once in a while as a rotation or injury replacement, but in general these guys most likely won’t be starting games and could possibly be replaced.

Walker Zimmerman - 30, Center Defender Nashville SC

Normal Sized Steven Adams

Walker Zimmerman is kind of a throwback with a hint of modern. He’s a big beefy boy who uses his strength and height to eliminate any incoming crosses/humans. Occasionally he can bully his way to a goal. Athletically he’s alright, as a passer he’s okay not transcendent. Makes mistakes when he’s forced to play out. He’s gonna “protect the rim” and keep the defense organized. It is somewhere between a rumor and a sourced report that Walker Zimmerman will play with the Olympic Team as it's Captain. To me, this makes sense, he's recovering from an injury and may not be 100% by the time the Copa happens, and he is somewhere between 4th and 7th on the Center back depth chart as things stand right now. But he's a respected locker room guy and a good centerback to have in a high pressure situation.

Joe Scally - 21, Right Back/Left Back Borussia Monchengladbach

Tyler Heinecke

Joe Scally is kind of boring. He’s playing at a decent level for a good team. He’s a traditional right back, who can get forward a little, and defends well enough. He’s a good athlete. He’s right footed but comfortable with his left. He could play left back or right back. He’s an active defender but only okay as a duelist. Are you skipping to the next player down yet? It seems like Berhalter doesn’t super rate him, but doesn’t have any options he likes more behind him. He’s been a little iffy in a USMNT jersey. He’s still pretty young but somehow it always seems like there’s not much room left to grow. I think his Jack of All Trades Master of None nature will eventually lead him to be a very good productive professional right back, but I’m not sure he’s anything more than a guy behind Dest.  

Luca De La Torre - 25, Center Midfielder RC Celta de Vigo

DJ LeMahieu

Super efficient, doesn’t make many mistakes. VERY smart, very tidy player. Not the most dominant athlete, but clever enough to make it work. Drives the ball forward into open space, can do JUST enough on defense. Right on the bubble for a guy who might make the roster but also might not. Has consistently bet on himself over the course of his soccer career and succeeded. LDLT is a litmus test for how far this team has come. A sometimes starter for Celta Vigo in Spain’s First Division, a player at that level would’ve most likely started for almost any USMNT roster in history. I won’t be betting against him. 

Malik Tillman - 21, Attacking Midfielder/Winger PSV

Patrick Cantlay 

A very in control player. Smooth, great technique, but a little slow sometimes. A word I see thrown around to describe his game is languid, and there are definitely days that’s fitting. This isn’t a comment on his physical pace, which is fine, but his appearance or intensity on the field. While on the ball he's shown an extremely high IQ and physical ability, his off ball movement has often been criticized and his off field activities have raised a few red flags. He did get left behind by the bus this year. Not a mortal lock to make the team, but his ability to play as either an attacking midfielder or a winger make it likely in my opinion we see him at the world cup. Still a bit of a work in progress but a very good creative attacker with plenty of room to continue growing.  

Brendan Aaronson - 23, Winger FC Union Berlin (on Loan from Leeds United)

Pipsqueak David Goggins

A peppy fun gun set to little brother, Brendan shakes up the snow globe by injecting relentless energy and pressing into a game when the team is lacking juice. At one point Brendan was in the 99th percentile of ground covered in the Premier League. Now in Germany, Brendan has started to finally string consecutive starts together and look more goal dangerous for a good Bundesliga team. I think coaches like players like Brendan because you always know what you’re gonna get, intensity with some occasional playmaking. Ultimately his spot will be in danger until he stops being so easy to push off the ball and becomes more consistently dangerous creatively.

Haji Wright - 26, Striker/Winger Coventry City

Hayden Hurst

A beast of a player who uses his height (6’4”) strength and speed to overpower less equipped defenders in the English Championship as both a winger and a striker. A longtime USMNT Youth Team mainstay, Haji has really come online the last 2 years after a brief disappearance into the bowels of the German Second Division. He has been a consistent goal scorer for both club and country. Haji Wright has become the real life version of a guy you start in a sports video game even though his overall rating might be lower because he somehow happens to score. Berhalter seems to value something about Haji’s game over players like Zendejas and Vazquez, and I’d bet we see him on the roster for the 2026 World Cup. 

Ricardo Pepi - 21, Striker PSV

Garrett Wilson

Ricardo Pepi is a classic striker. There have been very few USMNT Strikers in his mold, who have come up as a blue chip MLS prospect and made the leap to the professional and national team level. Pepi has every tool you could want, he’s got good size, he’s a composed finisher, he shows up in big games, a tidy passer when coming back to the ball and linking up, and he’s a smart player. He’s bounced around Europe the last few years working on finding the right place for him. Currently he’s at PSV who have had one of their all time great seasons with Pepi coming off the bench behind Luuk De Jong, who has been outside of his own body scoring this year. Pepi is still a very young player, and his underlying metrics when he has played have been excellent, but it’s time to start realizing more of that potential more consistently against tougher opponents. 

A "WORD" FROM ""OUR SPONSORS""

I'd like to break up this article about soccer to talk about, soccer. Specifically Detroit City FC. DCFC, I love you. I love what you've done, I love how you're connected with the community in Hamtramck, the success you've had in the Open Cup, in fact I once applied to work as a bartender at the Fieldhouse in Chene Park (which you guys really should've hired me for). I don't know shit about what's going on over in Corktown, and I don't really care. Does it mean an MLS team is coming? Maybe an NWSL team? Who knows. Doesn't matter. As a soccer loving Detroiter, and occasional USL follower, DCFC, I am begging you, to sign a prospect. Please. There is one player on the roster under 24 years old. Look at the direction the USL is going. Look at how Philadelphia has used their second team. Look at the payday Louisville FC got for Josh Wynder, San Antonio FC got for Jose Gallegos, and the one Birmingham FC will be getting for Matthew Corcoran. Look at how North Carolina FC has constructed its roster. You think all those guys languishing in the LAFC/LA Galaxy farm system want to be in MLS Next Pro? The Forest Hills public school district alone has put 2 players in the USL and had 3 guys get picked in the MLS Superdraft after 4 years of college. Dollars to doughnuts they have nice traditional grandparents who they would have loved to tell that they are professionals so they will stop calling it a hobby. Please find someone I can lobby in u20 World Cup forums for.

FIGHTING FOR A SPOT

Players in this category are right on the cusp. They’re the first four in and the first four out. Some players from this list will make the team, some won’t. 

Zack Steffen - 29, Goalkeeper Colorado Rapids

Ethan Horvath - 28, Goalkeeper Cardiff City

Sean Johnson - 34, Goalkeeper Toronto FC

Drake Callender - 26, Goalkeeper Inter Miami

Gaga Slonina - 19, Goalkeeper K.A.S Eupen (on loan from Chelsea)

The back up goalie position is one of the most up in the air spots available on the roster. There’s a bunch of guys who will put their hat in the ring, but all of them are flawed.

Zack Steffen has been incognito for like, 3 years now. The Guy at the start of the last cycle, he was passed by Turner after struggling to see the field with Manchester City and looking rusty before working through a series of injuries. He’s back in MLS now, we will see. The best passer in the pool, but also the most knucklehead mistakes.

Ethan Horvath has the silver medal blues. Always a bridesmaid but never the bride, Horvath has helped many English Championship teams get promoted to the Premier League only to be unceremoniously replaced once they arrive. Something similar has happened with the USMNT where he was the back up to Zack Steffen and now is the presumed backup to Matt Turner. A true journeyman and an actually decent keeper, Horvath will be on the roster.....probably......unless....?

Sean Johnson is the veteran of the group and has some caps and is decent and a smart keeper, but he’s only okay in MLS and getting up there in years and it’d be uninspiring if he ended up on the roster.

 Drake Callender is the new hotness, playing with Messi at Inter Miami, but I think the jury is out on how good he actually is.

Gaga Slonina is the youngest, and a player I think could restore USMNT goalkeeping to its World Class roots, but he’s only 19 and goalies are like baseball players, you don’t usually know what you have until they’re 23, 24 and they don’t peak until they're 28, 29, 30. It may be too soon.

Mark McKenzie - 25, Central Defender K.R.C. Genk

Keanu Neal, Jeremy Chinn, KJ Martin

Sort of a tweener in the (American) football sense. A little undersized for his position (6’0”) but not quite skilled enough to transition to a defensive midfielder role full time. The guy scores a LOT for a central defender, but at the cost of some defensive lapses that have kept him from moving into a larger league than the Belgian League (although that could change this summer). What he is, is an insane passer out of the back. This dude can ping a long pass. Still just entering his prime, I think McKenzie has another level yet to reach and I think he’s a fun player to watch, but as of now he projects as a player competing for the 4th or 5th center back spot.

Miles Robinson - 27, Central Defender F.C. Cincinnati

Myles Turner

A plus athlete for his position, Miles Robinson is a good centerback. He’s quick, he plays hard, and he’s an okay passer. Getting up in the air as well as anyone, he’s truly useful on set pieces. His underlying defensive numbers have been suspect for someone who had been rumored with a big European move for about 2 years. Ultimately he resigned in the MLS and is a significant piece for one of the MLS’s best defenses. One of a few guys competing for the 4th or 5th center back spots.  

Johnny Cardoso - 22, Central Midfielder Real Betis

Austin Reaves

As time goes on this looks more and more like a player who will end up, not just making the roster, but impacting it in a serious way. A very creative midfielder with a decent level of defensive bite and good height for his position. A different type of player than Tyler Adams, who profiles as more of a destroyer versus the more traditional deep lying playmaker cloth Johnny Soccer is cut from. A wonderful passer, Johnny came up playing in the Brazilian domestic league, and it shows in his game. We don’t have a lot of midfielders like Johnny and if Tyler is going to continue to be out, we may see a lot more of him sooner than we expected.

Kevin Paredes - 21, Left Winger/Left Wingback/Left Midfield VFL Wolfsburg

Bilal Coulibaly, Ausar Thompson

A really good young 2 way player. But can he be great? That’s the bar to make this team, you’ve gotta be able to be great. Originally a left back with DC United, Paredes is a player who always loved to bomb forward and he has been a legitimate bench wing for Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga. His future with the USMNT feels murky. As a left back he might have a shot but as a winger it's much more uncertain. Paredes continues to check boxes but he's got a few more to go before he's ready to contribute full time.

Luca Koleosho - 19, Winger Burnley

Chris Johnson Holding an Espresso and an Order of Poutine

A speed freak, with a hair trigger, Luca Koleosho is a true toes on the chalk winger. Koleosho is a quadruple national, eligible for the United States as well as Italy, Canada and Nigeria. So far he has only played for Italy, but the rumor mill is abuzz with supposed inside knowledge that Koleosho will join the USMNT when the time is right. We will see. A blue chip prospect who’s already started to prove his abilities with Burnley, Koleosho would most likely walk in as the 3rd or 4th winger on the roster. Assuming he’s able to bounce back from some early career injuries.

Josh Sargent - 24, Striker Norwich City FC 

Baker Mayfield

Injured but Will Be at Copa America

One of the best u-17 players of all time, Josh Sargent has really ridden the rollercoaster. A HIGHLY touted striker prospect, went to Germany and had some tough years playing for a really bad Wolfsburg organization. Bad rosters, bad coaches the whole thing. Finally gets out and goes to a historically bad Norwich City premier league side where at one point he was touching the ball like, 7 times in a game or something insane. But there were moments. Moments where you could see the raw goal scoring instincts. Now 24, his work rate, ability to come deep to connect, smart movement, and clever finishing combined with his ability to appear to sometimes black out and do things that don’t make sense, have come together and he is absolutely ripping up the English Championship (2nd division). He’ll be in a first division somewhere in Europe next year, and pushing Balogun and Pepi for playing time. 

OUTSIDE LOOKING IN

Players in this category are probably not making the roster as of this writing, but they could!

DeJuan Jones - 26, Left Back New England Revolution

Having Joe Mixon on Your Fantasy Football Team

Dejuan Jones is fine. He’s a good MLS left back who has a few international caps, and will compete for the backup left back spot. He brings decent speed, decent defending and he’s good for a cross now and then, but he hasn’t really been tested in a big spot against quality international opponents and I think that’s intentional. I DO think he’s been good in the games he has played and I would like to see more of him. Ultimately he’s playing at a position where good enough probably gets it done, without much emerging competition at Left Back.

Kristoffer Lund - 21, Left Back Palermo

That Year Rafael Palmeiro Won A Gold Glove Mostly Playing DH

Kristoffer Lund is a product of this generation of soccer. A left back who’s actually a left midfielder, Lund excels at getting forward with nice pace and putting a ball into the box. He connects well as a passer but even at the level he’s playing at in the Italian Second Division he’s a pretty average defender. Spending more time in Italy, a country known for stout defensive practices should help, and that might be enough to claim a victory in the weak sauce back up left back competition.

Bryan Reynolds - 22, Right Back K.V.C. Westerlo

Jonathan Kuminga

A converted winger, Bryan Reynolds was always going to be a bit of a project. An explosive athlete and natural play maker with a big frame for a player of his position (6’3”). Like Kuminga, Reynolds seemed like he would be a boom/bust prospect who busted early, but might be coming back to boom just a little. Has had a few good years in Belgium and might be ready for the next step. He makes sense one day as the closest thing to a true backup for Sergino Dest, but he’s not there yet. Could he be by the time 2026 rolls around? 

Lennard Maloney - 24, Defensive Midfielder/Central Defender  1. FC Heidenheim

Imagine What You Think a German Soccer Player is Like, You Nailed it

Maloney is a 6’2” German/American dual national who runs forever, wins duels in the air and on the ground and is mentally unflappable. There are no frills in Maloney’s game, no frills at all of any kind. Which cuts both ways as a bit of creativity is required in the midfield. Can’t just pass it back to Chris Richards the whole game.

Jordan Pefok - 28, Striker Borussia Monchengladbach (on Loan from Union Berlin)

Patrick Ricard, Eddie Lacy

A pretty classic, big bloke in the mixer style striker. Makes his bones with his power and movement and ability to finish in tight windows with big ass kicks. The type of striker I think SHOULD work with the USMNT and the type of striker that CAN really excel in the less tactically enhanced world of international soccer, but hasn’t so far. Has struggled in a USMNT jersey missing some good chances and putting in some underwhelming shifts. 

Brendan Vazquez - 25, Striker C.F. Monterrey

Craig Reynolds aka Big Smooth the Serpent of Fucking Death

This is less a player comp, and more a nickname comp? Brandon Vazquez is 6’3”, smooth on the ball and a real life demon from hell inside the box. An extremely smart mover off the ball, and an absolutely lethal finisher with a soft touch. Despite some European interest, made a move to Liga MX in Mexico where he has continued to be a dude who just puts the ball in the back of the net. So far, Berhalter and US Soccer haven’t called Vazquez in much and it certainly seems like they consider him on the outside looking in, but it’s hard to deny a guy who’s so goddamn good at scoring. If the rumors are to be believed, Vazquez may play as one of three overage players in the Olympics.

Auston Trusty - 25, Central Defender Sheffield United

Drew Eubanks

“Hey!” You might say, “That’s a Premier League Team!” “a 25 year old center defender with 2500 minutes for a premier league team that’s pretty good!” And that's not an incorrect observation. But the eye test and the underlying numbers prove he’s not really at that level, yet. Sheffield United were the last place team in the Premier League, they’ve been relegated to the second division, and outside of a strong performance against Liverpool, he was pretty below the level. The competition for the 4th and 5th centerback spots is open and will be fierce, and you can’t rule anyone out, but he’d need to continue on his surprise success in the championship to get there. The third of three players rumored to play in the overage spots in the Olympics.

A “WORD” FROM OUR ““SPONSORS””

We once again interrupt our soccer manifesto to talk about soccer. US Soccer. The Soccer Federation. The American Soccer governing body. You screwed us. You committed an act of karmic imbalance that will reverberate through the stadiums of the World Cup. The soccer world cup will happen during the 4th of July. What an opportunity. And it’s not just any 4th of July it’s the 250th one. The 250th anniversary of the United States of America. Wow. What an opportunity to fly an F16 Falcon over an audience celebrating “The Greatest Country on Earth” and whip up a frenzied home crowd. So what did you do? You put the USMNT’s Group Stage games in Los Angeles, Seattle and Los Angeles. Congratulations you’re gonna get some great cut away shots of Selena Gomez half engaged (she’s listening very intently to me explain a double pivot to her). Will Ferrell is in the audience! Whoa! Did you know he’s a minority owner of LAFC? Rob McElhenny and Ryan Reynolds are in a private box together! Check out season 4 of Welcome to Wrexham on Hulu now! Cool. 

Boston. New York. Philadelphia. Washington DC. Historic, important American cities. Also, great sports cities, and more important than that, cities of historical haterdom. 3 of the hatingest cities in the world all in the same time zone (Boston, New York, Philadelphia). You’re going to grow the game more by letting the city of Philadelphia boo Algeria off the field than by showing LeBron on his phone in the stands and reminding us he owns .58% of Liverpool. No hate to Seattle, an actual good sports city with good crowds and a history of giving a shit about their MLS team.

SO, YOU'RE SAYING THERE'S A CHANCE.....?

Players in this category currently have a pretty significant flaw that has and will most likely exclude them from the team. But the world is chaotic and we’re all gonna die, and stranger things happen every day.

Jalen Neal - 20, Central Defender L.A. Galaxy

Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr

A young, lanky defender with a lot of tools but a lot of questions. Jalen is one of our best/only bets for a U21 to become a passable national team center back. He’s got a great physical profile, 6’3”, decent on the ball, quick enough for now. Has had some struggles with injuries and some shaky moments, which is to be expected of a 20 year old center back. He looks the part of a good center back prospect but we need to see him start to pull it all together and get consistent, starting, minutes on an aging and increasingly flimsy Galaxy back line.

Gianluca Busio - 21, Center Midfielder Venezia FC 

Kyle Hendricks

A player who indexes on his control more than his power. A brilliant passer and free kick taker, who’s becoming better as a true center midfield, but needs to get the metaphorical fastball more consistently above 90 mph to reach the next level. Sort of a hybrid center midfielder, and there’s a lot of guys ahead of him at that position who are much more consistent, cover more ground and offer more defensive bite. Next year will be a big test for Busio, with Venezia being promoted to the first tier in Italian football. Succeeding there could go a long way to senior team minutes with the USMNT.

Griffin Yow - 21, Winger K.V.C Westerlo

Coby White

Look, when Griffin Yow secured a move from DC United to Belgium I’m not going to lie, my reaction was “that guy’s gonna go to Europe??” He hadn’t done much in MLS, and no one really felt like there was a deep well of talent there. And then when they brought him in to the most recent Olympic Camp I was like “what?????” Then he scored like 3 goals and had 2 assists in 3 games and most likely earned himself a spot on the Olympic roster and a move to a bigger club, so what do I know. 

Taylor Booth - 22, Midfielder/Winger FC Utrecht

Goran Dragic 

A midfielder by trade, but a winger by necessity for FC Utrecht who have used his creativity and ball progression skills as a patchwork winger. A playmaker, he’s a lot of fun to watch in the notoriously wide open Dutch league. Struggled with injuries over the last 18 months which has kept him out of some USMNT camps he might have otherwise been a part of. The thing that keeps him out of the World Cup roster most likely is the volume of similar players the USMNT pool has. People like Malik Tillman and Reyna, and even Brendan Aaronson or Luca De La Torre are either better defensively or such geniuses offensively it eclipses the positive things the still young Booth has accomplished. That said, I really do like Booth as a player. 

Cade Cowell - 20, Winger/Striker C.D. Guadalajara 

Luis Mendoza from D2 the Mighty Ducks

A unique straight line athlete. A jet plane of a player who recently moved to Liga MX, but is probably not quite at a place where he’s ready to make that full time next step. Even in the elite of the elite sports world Cade’s top line speed combined with his physical strength is special. If Bruce Feldman wrote about soccer, Cade would be on his Freaks List. But he needs to find a little bit more control and continue to grow as an everyday non-scoring playmaker. 

Darryl Dike - 23, Striker West Bromwich Albion F.C.

Paper Mache Zion Williamson

When Darryl Dike is on the field, he’s scoring. It’s as simple as that. At every level he’s scored, defying advanced metrics and shoving nerds into lockers. He’s a gigantic man with speed, killer instinct and a cannon for a leg. The problem has been injuries. It seems like his body might not be up for the rigors of professional soccer. But if he can get a 12 month run of health, who knows what might happen. 

Tanner Tessmann - 22, Defensive Midfielder Venezia FC 

Bizarro Josh Lambo

At one point had signed a letter of intent to play for Dabo Swinney (his Godfather??) at Clemson as a Kicker before seemingly wandering accidentally onto the field for FC Dallas and looking, like, great? Like, immediately? A 6’3” defensive midfielder, Tessmann towers over some of the players in the Italian second Division where he plays for Venezia. When I watch Tessmann play, I see someone who looks like they know where the smartest pass is, but sometimes can’t make it happen. A developing playmaker who can rip one from deep. One of the best players in the Italian second division, he was a key player in Venezia getting promoted to the first division. Now we’ll really see what Tessmann is capable of, and if he continues to succeed he’ll get more chances with the first team. That said, he’s behind Johnny, Luca, and potentially even his own teammate Gianluca Busio for bench Defensive Midfielder minutes, and that’s going to be tough to overcome.

Alejandro Zendejas - 26, Winger Club America

Tiny James Cook

An extremely tricky, slight, winger who keeps his head on a swivel in the box and boasts a real knack for finishing. A very good goal scorer in Liga MX, Zendejas hasn’t really had the same success with the USMNT. The pool doesn’t have a lot of wingers like Zendejas, who beat guys in “the cage match” to make their bones, but this is partially because it’s almost impossible to be this kind of player at the highest levels of international play. The defenders are too good and quick. A bubble guy who as of this writing seems most likely to be on the outside looking in to this world cup squad.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: Pulisic used to be more of this guy before his injuries, and Gio is closer to a 10 then a winger (in my opinion) so you can keep these DM’s to yourself!

ONE CYCLE AWAY

National teams run in 4 year cycles, world cup to world cup. The players in this category will be ones to watch for the next iteration of the team, but won't impact the 2026 Roster.

Diego Kochan - 18, Goalkeeper Barcelona B

Chris Brady - 20, Goalkeeper Chicago Fire

The two young goalies who will be competing with Gaga Slonina in the next cycle for the starting gig as well as the backup-when-unavailable gig. Chris Brady has been very good over the last 18 months for Chicago Fire and looks to be a pretty sure thing as a keeper with a European future. Diego Kochan has the potential to be the best American Goalkeeper since Tim Howard. The Spanish Soccer Federation believe Kochan might be so good, they convinced Barcelona to not release him for a youth tournament so he wouldn’t be provisionally cap tied and they could try to convince him to play nationally for Spain. But, he has yet to play first team minutes and isn’t anywhere near ready to compete right now.

Cavan Sullivan - 14, Winger/TBD Philadelphia Union II (on Loan from Manchester City)

Zion Williamson’s High School Highlights Where’s He’s Dunking on Little White Kids

The best prospect since Christian Pulisic. A GENERATIONAL talent as a winger. Makes this list at the age of 14. Not a typo, he’s 14. Scouts for Manchester City believe him to be the best player in his age group in the world. He’ll be 16 when this tournament starts so even if he was Lionel Messi he wouldn’t make the roster, but we could see him as early as 2030.

Rokas Pukstas - 19, Central Midfielder Hajduk Split (Croatia)

Rip Hamilton

Exact position unknown, somewhere between a box to box run everywhere be all things midfielder and a playmaking attacking midfielder who helps getting back, Rokas Pukstas has had a really nice couple of years in Croatia and will look to make a move to a top European league team sometime soon. Does a lot of things well, now it's time to do a lot of things great. If he's going to be an 8 (box to box) he needs to add that extra bit of defensive bite, if he's going to be a 10 (attacking midfielder) he needs to add some crispness to his passing.

Jack McGlynn - 20, Center Midfielder Philadelphia Union

Chad Pennington

Potential to be a borderline world class distributor with a "cultured left foot" as they say, but a player very much in need of continued development defensively and as an athlete to be able to hack it as a center midfielder at the international level. 

Diego Luna - 20, Attacking Midfielder/Winger Real Salt Lake

an Offensive Lineman who runs a sub 5 second 40 yard dash

One of my personal favorite players. A shifty winger with classic soccer player swagger built like a refrigerator. A natural playmaker who's getting ready to make his move out of MLS and prove he’s ready to compete for USMNT minutes, despite a rough patch of form to start the MLS season, and an Olympic Camp snub.

Benja Cremaschi - 19, Midfielder Inter Miami

Scottie Barnes’ Rookie Season

A really well rounded midfielder showing a lot of things on both the offensive and defensive ends very early on. Still too young to impact the first team, but will be heard from.

Caleb Wiley - 19, Left Back/Left Wingback Atlanta United

A can't miss Left back prospect with the record for games from a home grown player for Atlanta United. He really does it all, and his ceiling is really high. Another two years and he might be a part of the back up Left Back competition. Most likely will be in Europe sooner rather than later.

Esmir Basrakterajic - 19, Winger New England Revolution

 Jalen Suggs

An extremely tight handle on the ball, with some work to do as a playmaker and in veteran savvy. Well liked by the USSF. One to watch. 

Paxton Aaronson - 20, Winger/Attacking Midfielder Vitesse (on loan from Eintracht Frankfurt)

Pipsqueakier David Goggins

Brendan’s little brother, occupies a similar space and style, although Paxton seems to be better at being goal dangerous at the expense of some of the energy and pace that Brendan brings to the defensive side of the ball

Josh Wynder - 19, Benfica B

Cooper Flagg

A player who made a splash very early on, signing in the USL with Louisville FC as a 16 year old before being sold to Portuguese youth kingmakers Benfica for 1.2 Million. Then a record for the USL. You can read some interesting thoughts on the benefits of that pathway here. Since then he hasn’t been heard from much as he works his way through injuries and a hyper competitive Benfica youth setup. But make no mistake, this kid is a huge prospect who we will hopefully see again soon once he’s ready for first team soccer. 

Manu Romero - 15, Left Back/Left Winger Real Madrid U16’s

I don’t know a lot about Manu Romero, he’s a widely sought after triple national; eligible to play for Spain, Uruguay, and the United States. He’s rated by Real Madrid’s Youth set up and he plays left back. That’s all I need to know with our left back troubles to say we will hear from him in the next six years. 

Noahkai Banks - 17, Centerback FC Augsburg U19’s

Look I think my sicko credentials are pretty strong 8 and a half thousand words in, but I’m not going to pretend I’ve watched a single minute of a Bundesliga’s Teams U19’s. But, people who do this professionally have told me that this is the guy to watch if a really really young central defender was going to sneak into the 2026 World Cup roster.