USMNT World Cup Preview

HISTORY

Any talk of this 4-year cycle must begin with how badly US Soccer botched the build up to this World Cup.  Coach Gregg Berhalter’s contract wasn’t renewed over a sordid back-and-forth with the family of Gio Reyna directly after Qatar 2022.  First, we had Anthony Hudson as interim coach for five matches.  Then it was BJ Callaghan for seven.  After an “exhaustive” search by an “outside firm” the Federation landed right back where they started with Berhalter.

This inevitably didn’t end well with a flameout in the group stage of the Copa América, which I chronicled here.  After Berhalter was fired Mikey Varas got the call for two matches before Mauricio Pochettino (Poch) was hired on 9/10/24.  So that makes a total of five coaches in a 4-year span, which obviously is not ideal.  Especially when you are hosting the World Cup with the most talented generation of American players ever.

Poch’s hire was hailed as a major coup at the time, but his tenure has been a mixed bag.  His overall record is 14-10-2, which is clearly nothing special.  A lot of the poor results have been self-inflicted wounds based on his own decisions.  After not winning the CONCACAF Nations League in March 2025 for the first time (we finished fourth) Poch burned the roster to the ground.

He claimed the team needed a culture reset, and he was probably right about that to a degree.  How he went about it can be questioned though.  He stopped calling in a bunch of European regulars and leaned heavily into MLS guys.  This group made a run to the Gold Cup Final where they lost to Mexico.  They were largely uninspiring though and Poch’s lineup and formation choices were all over the place.  It truly felt like he didn’t know who his best players were or how to deploy them.

Then at halftime of a friendly we were losing to South Korea 0-2 he made a formation switch to a 3-4-2-1 and suddenly things started to click.  As a longtime fan of the USMNT we have basically never played with three center backs (CB).  It seemed to fit our talent well and we ran off a string five matches unbeaten after that.  Then, with momentum finally building, he inexplicably changed tactics back to two CBs.  We proceeded to get waxed by a total of 7-2 in the two March friendlies. 

He came to his senses in the recent send-off matches.  Back in the 3-4-2-1 we beat a quality Senegal side 3-2 and played Germany very tough in a 1-2 loss. The players are showing that they believe in this formation by their consistent effort.  If Poch goes away from these tactics in the World Cup for any reason he’s loco.

ROSTER

Goalkeepers: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)

Midfielders: Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen)

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Marseille), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)

Injuries ruled out midfielder Johnny Cardoso (Atlético Madrid, ankle) and forward Patrick Agyemang (Derby County, Achillies), but other than that all players were available for selection.  I keep a running depth chart that I update every few months and I feel like Poch got his roster mostly right.  He called in my top 2 keepers, top 3 CBs, top 5 fullbacks, top 2 attacking midfielders (a #10 in fútbol parlance), top 4 wingers and top 3 strikers.  That’s 19 of 26 players, so not bad at all.

This wouldn’t be a true USMNT World Cup roster without one glaring mistake that will surely come back to bite us.  In 2014 Jürgen Klinsmann took Brad Davis over Landon Donovan.  This was inexplicable at the time, and shambolic 12 years later. 

In 2022 Berhalter took Jesús Ferreria over Ricardo Pepi.  When starting striker Josh Sargent got injured in the final group stage match, Ferreria was forced into action for the knockout round.  Jesús started and lasted 45 minutes while Pepi was sitting at home fuming at Berhalter.

For Poch his decision to take a fifth CB in Miles Robinson over midfielder Tanner Tessmann (Lyon) has the potential to be disastrous.  For some reason Poch only took one true defensive midfielder (a #6) in Tyler Adams.  So if Adams gets hurt or suspended, we are cooked.  Considering that Miles was at fault for 3 of the 4 goals in the send-off matches, he absolutely can’t play in the World Cup.  To remove a player that has no business being on the roster (per sources, Miles hasn’t even been good in MLS this season) for the second best #6 on my depth chart should be a no-brainer.  Lyon finished fourth in Ligue 1 and Tessmann started 28 matches and played 2,546 minutes as their #6.  I really hope Adams can play every minute for us, but something tells me he won’t.

We have one other guy that definitely can’t see the pitch, Cristian Roldan.  He’s a decent MLS player, but he’s 31 and has always been more of a box-to-box midfielder (a #8).  He can maybe “do a job” as a #6 in MLS, but at this level, no freaking way.  Since Johnny is injured, I’d prefer to have the next #6 on my depth chart in Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough) over Roldan.  Morris started 41 matches and played 3,622 minutes for the team that just missed out on promotion to the Premier League.  I always complain about the end of the roster, but these two changes would balance our midfield depth and put my mind at ease.

Some people were shocked by the omission of Poch favorite Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), but I think Alejandro Zendejas is more deserving at the same position.  The only other snub worth mentioning is Yunus Musah (Atalanta).  He was part of the vaunted MMA midfield in Qatar, but Poch banished him after he skipped the Gold Cup to rest.  Yunus is still only 23 and will be back in the mix for 2030, but I’d probably rather have him over Sebastian Berhalter.

In 2022 Gregg Berhalter called in 9 MLS players (1 keeper).  Poch called in 8, but 3 are keepers.  It’s worth noting that this is the first time since 1990 that a USMNT World Cup team does not have a keeper playing in Europe.  Poch seems to be leaning toward Matt Freese over Matt Turner.  On Monday Freese said he hasn’t been told he’ll be the starter.  Then on Tuesday Turner said the same thing.  Not having your starting keeper locked in the week of the World Cup…is…um…not great.

PARAGUAY

We played La Albirroja on 11/15/25 in Chester, PA.  The match ended in a fracas (one of their players got a red) as we clearly frustrated them winning 2-1.  This was during our run of good form, but it was just a friendly after all.  The match does give us some clues though.

Paraguay is known for playing tough, physical defense and being extremely hard to score on.  They also are expert practitioners of the “dark arts,” trying to get under the opposition’s skin by taking hard fouls and wasting time.  That’s why I’m happy we got a Dutch crew of referees headed by Danny Makkelie. He’s overseen several high profile matches in Europe and should be able to control things if they start to get out of hand.  I don’t love that the VAR is from Spain, but you can’t have everything.

On Saturday Paraguay’s best attacker Julio Enciso was stretchered off the pitch crying.  Word is the injury won’t end his World Cup, but he has already been ruled out of the match Friday.  The USMNT also has an injury concern as our best CB Chris Richards hurt his ankle on 5/17 and hasn’t played since.  He said on Wednesday "I'm ready.  I mean, it's the World Cup, so I'm going to make myself ready regardless.  I'm feeling good.  Maybe a little swollen, but nothing tape can't help."  He hasn’t played in a month though so I’d be surprised if he can go a full 90.

Even though La Albirroja are ranked 22^nd in ELO compared to us at 39, we have more talent “on paper.”  I watched that friendly and we straight up were the better team, beating them at their own game.  They kicked us and we kicked them right back, never backing down.  There is no reason we should expect anything less than a win.

I assume Poch will trot out the same 3-4-2-1, but I honestly don’t know who he should start at keeper.  Neither is good with their feet, but Turner has the experience from 2022 and is probably the better shot-stopper.  Freese is better at saving PKs, but the difference between the two is marginal since both are mid.

The rest of the lineup basically writes itself at this point.

        Balogun

   Pulisic McKennie

Jedi Adams Tillman Dest

Ream Richards Freeman

Up top Folarin Balogun and Christian Pulisic are locks, although some are saying Pepi could start instead of Balo.  I see Ricardo as our late game sub when we are pushing for a goal.  Weston McKennie and Malik Tillman are playing in opposite positions than they do for their clubs.  Wes is more of a #8 where Malik is a #10.  The freedom Poch has given them to interchange kind of makes this a moot point, but it is something to keep an eye on.  As I already said, Adams is our only true #6.  Which makes him our most important player due to lack of depth there. 

When both Antonee “Jedi” Robinson and especially Sergiño Dest are healthy we just look so much more dangerous.  I’d say Richards and Alex Freeman are locks at their positions as well (with Chris being our second most important player).  Poch named Tim Ream Captain before the tournament, so unfortunately, he’s probably going to play a lot of minutes  I say unfortunately because he is 38 and has no speed left in his legs.  I think every team will try and isolate him against a pacey right winger as part of their tactical plan.  I’d prefer to see Auston Trusty in that spot.  He’s 27, also left-footed and has looked very good for the USMNT in his last four caps.

Depending on the scoreline our subs will be different.  If we are pushing for a goal expect to see Pepi, Reyna, Tim Weah and possibly Zendejas or Haji Wright.  If we have a lead and need to see things out you can expect Brenden Aaronson, Seb Berhalter, Joe Scally and Trusty or Mark McKenzie to get the call.

For as down as I have been on this group of players during this cycle, I think things are finally trending in the right direction.  Our attack has been sneaky dangerous lately and Poch has them always going for it.  The flip side to this is we often leave our defense exposed and give up goals we shouldn’t.  With an unsettled keeper situation, an aging CB and a mistake prone #6 that isn’t a good combo.  What I’m saying is we will score more goals than normal, but don’t expect many clean sheets.

I’ll be at the match in Inglewood on Friday and I think it’s going to be a major home field advantage for us.  I have a feeling our boys will bag an early goal running off the adrenaline of the crowd.  This would be massive for us because it will force Paraguay to have to push for an equalizer.  The match being more wide-open suits us more than them.  I think we’ll get another but concede late.  A 2-1 win and three points will be a great start!