2026 World Cup: Where the USMNT stands 500 days from its first match
Things are looking up for the U.S. men's national team. The Americans' 2026 FIFA World Cup opener at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles is now just 500 days away. Christian Pulisic is AC Milan's best player and on pace for his best season yet. Heart and soul midfielder Tyler Adams is finally fully healthy again and playing some of the best soccer of his life. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Chris Richards, Joe Scally, Yunus Musah are also all well on their way toward having a career year in 2025.
Star coach Mauricio Pochettino began his first full year at the helm with a pair of convincing wins earlier this month as a squad made up of MLS players displayed the program's growing depth behind the European-based cohort.
Hell, even the bad news — like the fact that Gio Reyna still isn't a regular starter with Borussia Dortmund — doesn't seem that terrible right now. Reyna is healthy, after all, and he'll soon have the chance to change his fortunes under a new Black & Yellow manager.
With the USMNT idle until the Concacaf Nations League finals in late March and the biggest World Cup in history approaching at warp speed, now's as good a time as any to take a snapshot of where the American player pool stands.
Goalkeeper
Although Matt Turner is likely to play just once for Crystal Palace (in an FA Cup match versus Doncaster on Feb. 10) before the March 20 semi versus Panama, he remains Pochettino's clear No. 1 for now.
"Today Matt I think deserves the [role], because in the last two games against Jamaica he was fantastic," Pochettino said, referring to November's two-leg Nations League quarters.
Things are getting interesting behind Turner. Presumed second choice Patrick Schulte didn't hurt himself in the Americans' 3-1 win over Venezuela earlier this month, but Zack Steffen's throwback performance in the subsequent shutout of Costa Rica gives the coaching staff something to think about when it comes to Turner's understudy. Steffen is vastly experienced, is still just 29, and has all the motivation in the world to carve out a role after being left off the roster for Qatar 2022 by former coach Gregg Berhalter.
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Another veteran, Ethan Horvath, now appears entirely out of the picture. Matt Freese, the only January camper not to appear in either friendly, could rise the ranks quickly if he leaves MLS for Europe this month, as rumored, and begins playing immediately. Eighteen-year-old Barcelona prospect Diego Kochen will stay in the mix but he remains a more realistic candidate for 2030.
Whatever the pecking order, the keeper situation isn't as dire as it seemed last summer, according to the coach.
"We can feel," Pochettino said last week, "That we are very safe in the goal."
(Photo by Brad Smith/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)
Right back
Sergiño Dest is nearing his return, but he might find it hard to immediately dislodge Scally, who has thrived as a hybrid third center back in Pochettino's system so far. Scally's consistently stout defensive play could even move Pochettino to deploy the creative Dest in a more attacking role.
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There's a huge drop-off after those two. Pochettino didn't even bother to summon a backup for Scally the last time the full-strength squad convened, explaining then that others could fill in if necessary. That makes sense: McKennie and Weah have both covered the corner at times for Italian titans Juventus this season. Adams, Musah Mark McKenzie, Chris Richards, and Miles Robinson also have experience there, too.
Center back
Tim Ream served as captain during Pochettino's first four games in charge. Does that continue now that Richards is once again playing every week in England's vaunted Premier League? McKenzie was Ream's partner in October and November and has established himself as an ever -present for French Ligue 1 side Toulouse. Those are probably Pochettino's top three.
Meantime, Miles Robinson started both January games, while 2022 World Cup veteran Walker Zimmerman saw his first minutes under the new staff.
Among the newcomers, CF Montreal's George Campbell impressed. "I really like Campbell," Pochettino said. "George was amazing — I was so pleased with him."
But it's a numbers game. Are any MLS options ahead of Cameron Carter Vickers and Auston Trusty, who just helped Scottish club Celtic each the Champions League knockout stage? We'll see in March.
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Left back
Sunday's loss to Manchester United didn't change anything for Jedi, the Perm's top left back who seems poised to leave Fulham for a Champions League participant this summer. Were Robinson to get hurt, though, it'd be a real problem for the U.S. Scally could switch sides if that happened, although he's only gotten spot duty there for Borussia Mönchengladbach this season and prefers his natural spot. "First, I'm a right back," Scally told FOX Sports earlier this month.
The best natural left-footed options are Kristopher Lund, who is playing regularly again for Palermo in the Italian second tier, and John Tolkin, who left January camp early to sign with Holstein Kiel and made his Bundesliga debut last week. Another name to keep an eye on here: DeJuan Jones, one of the top U.S. performers last week against the Ticos.
Midfield
If healthy, the MMA midfield of McKennie, Musah and Adams will reunite in March for the first time since Copa América. That's great news for the USMNT. The competition behind them is fierce, too — even with PSV's Malik Tillman out indefinitely with an ankle injury.
Johnny Cardoso continues to excel in his first full campaign with Real Betis; he's now gone all 90 minutes in five consecutive La Liga games. Venezia's Gianluca Busio has an even longer minutes streak in Italy's Serie A, while Brenden Aaronson has gone the distance in five straight games for Leeds in the English Championship. His younger brother, Paxten Aaronson, has logged more than 1,500 minutes and scored five goals so far for Utrecht in the Netherlands top division.
Aidan Morris is now fully recovered from a knee injury and has logged 90 in two straight for Championship outfit Middlesbrough. In Germany, James Sands just got his first Bundesliga start for St. Pauli, while Lenny Maloney left relegation-threatened Heidenheim for sixth place Mainz.
Minutes have been harder to come by for others; Reyna didn't get off the bench in Dortmund's first match under interim boss Mike Tullberg. In France, Tanner Tessmann has been an unused substitute in each of Lyon's last three games.
Still, Reyna and Tessmann almost certainly remain ahead of MLS-based prospects like Emeka Eneli, Benjamin Cremaschi, Diego Luna, Jack McGlynn, and even 2022 World Cup vet Luca de la Torre, who was recently loaned to expansion San Diego FC after losing his place with Celta Vigo in Spain.
Winger
Pulisic and Weah have long been locks here, though Pochettino has already tinkered with the positioning of both and could prefer to use the former centrally. Who else would the Argentine try out wide? Dest, Jedi, Reyna, Musah, Luna, Cade Cowell, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright, Alex Zendejas and both Aaronsons all have experience on the wings at both club and international level.
Striker
With Folarin Balogun injured, Pepi earned the starting job by scoring in both legs of November's successful Nations League series with the Reggae Boyz. He also keeps scoring for PSV, bagging his 17th goal on Saturday in just over 1,000 minutes played across all competitions this season for the Champions League participants.
Josh Sargent scored twice on Saturday in his first start for Norwich City since undergoing groin surgery in October. Balogun (shoulder surgery) is out until April, so Sargent should be involved in March — especially with Wright (ankle) also sidelined long-term.
Brandon Vazquez could also be there if he starts the 2025 MLS season strong with new club Austin. It could come down to Vazquez or Charlotte's Patrick Agyemang, who finished January camp as one of its biggest winners after bagging his first two USMNT goals.
"We have different options" up top, Pochettino said.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer writer for FOX Sports who has covered the United States men's and women's national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him at @ByDougMcIntyre.
