Mauricio Pochettino unveiled the final 26-man roster for the U.S. national team that will compete in the 2026 Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) North American World Cup. As the host nation, the United States will rely on a squad centered on Europe-based players to challenge for its best-ever finish.
The U.S. national team announced its roster for the North American World Cup on the 27th (Korea time).
Thirteen players who participated in the 2022 Qatar World Cup were again included on the squad led by Pochettino. Players with prior tournament scoring experience, including Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah and Haji Wright, were also included.
There is also a high proportion of Europe-based players.
Five players from England's Premier League (EPL), three from Germany's Bundesliga, three from France's Ligue 1, and players from a total of nine national leagues joined the squad.
Key players include Pulisic, Gio Reyna, Paul Arriola, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie and Chris Richards.
In particular, ESPN described it as "for the first time in the modern era of soccer, the U.S. national team is made up entirely of players from first-division clubs."
It is also notable that 21 of the players on the overall roster are products of Major League Soccer (MLS) clubs or academies.
Pochettino said, "I am confident that these 26 players can create success at the World Cup," adding, "There were many difficult decisions, but every player is ready to give everything for the United States."
The United States will begin full World Cup preparations at its Atlanta base camp.
On the 1st of next month they will play a tune-up against Senegal and on the 7th against Germany as a final check.
The United States will face Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye in World Cup Group D. They are aiming to go beyond the group stage and reach even higher.
Meanwhile, an unexpected controversy arose during the roster announcement process.
According to the British outlet Sports Bible, Pochettino reportedly informed the players who were ultimately cut by email rather than by directly calling them.
When asked about this, Pochettino referred to his own experience as a player.
He said, "When I was a player, I did not want to receive a coach's call when I was told I had been cut," adding, "I thought the players who were cut would not want to hear my apology either."
He went on to explain, "We really respect our players. That is why we did not want to leave any unnecessarily confusing messages."
This World Cup is an important stage for Pochettino personally as well.
He was praised as a world-class coach during his time at Tottenham, where he helped develop Son Heung-min, Harry Kane and Dele Alli. He also experienced a UEFA Champions League runner-up finish and an EPL runner-up finish in the 2018-19 season.
However, his career trajectory afterward fell short of expectations.
After being dismissed from Tottenham in 2019, he failed to deliver the expected results at Paris Saint-Germain and was unable to spark a turnaround at Chelsea.
Ultimately, after taking the reins of the U.S. national team, Pochettino is also aiming for a career resurgence as a coach at this World Cup.
[OSEN]