The last time we did this exercise we began with a word about why the importance of formations in soccer is generally overrated. Since the way teams initially set up means little, and because it’s been almost three full months since the U.S. men’s national team took to the field, let’s consider the very real possibility that U.S. coach Mauricio Pochettino will switch things around at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which the Americans kick off against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on June 12.
So even if Pochettino’s best teams, like the Tottenham Hotspur squad he took to its only UEFA Champions League final in club history in 2019, played with four defenders, so what? Pochettino is pragmatic, as he reminded reporters during his first pre-match press conference with the U.S. in October 2024.
“People sometimes say, ‘That’s my philosophy, my idea, and I’m going to die with my idea,’” the Argentine said then. “No. I want to live. I want to be clever, and I want to win. I don’t want to die.”
And the truth is, playing with three center-backs and two wingbacks might best maximize the talents available to Pochettino next summer. My FOX colleagues and former U.S. World Cup team members Stu Holden and Alexi Lalas both think so, and they’re far from alone.
Such a scheme could hinge on the health of Antonee “Jedi” Robinson — more on that later — but there are benefits, like extra defensive cover for 38-year-old captain Tim Ream. It would allow Pochettino to keep the burgeoning partnership between Alex Freeman and Sergiño Dest on the right side. Dest and Jedi would have more freedom to go forward.
It remains to be seen how the United States will set up in late March, when they meet Belgium and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal in Atlanta in the final two tuneups before the World Cup roster is named, let alone at the main event itself. We’ll have new data points before and after those games. For now, here’s who I project making the final 26-player squad and the starting 11 versus Paraguay.
GOALKEEPERS
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Starter: Matt Freese
Backups: Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte
Just missed out: Chris Brady, Roman Celentano, Ethan Horvath, Jonathan Klinsmann, Diego Kochen, Zack Steffen
With all of these names now based in MLS save Klinsmann and Kochen — Horvath singed with the New York Red Bulls last month —the first few weeks of the 2026 season will be fascinating on the keeper front. (Too bad Freese’s NYCFC and Turner’s New England Revolution don’t meet until August.) Still, while the conventional wisdom is that all three World Cup picks are likely to come from the domestic league, it’s worth noting that Klinsmann has played every minute of the Italian Serie B season for Cesena so far. He was also called in for two of the three final U.S. camps of 2025.
CENTER BACKS
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Starters: Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Alex Freeman
Backups: Noahkai Banks, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson,
Just missed out: Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, Walker Zimmerman
Competition is heating up here. Freeman just made his La Liga debut for Villarreal. Richards has made seven straight starts for Crystal Palace since returning from a foot issue. United States assistants watched Ream’s preseason match vs. Sporting Kansas City on Jan. 31.
McKenzine is a stalwart for Toulouse and Banks, 19, keeps making his World Cup case stronger with each passing Bundesliga appearance for Augsburg. Trusty has also bounced back in recent weeks for Celtic, the Scottish club on a 4W-0L-1T run with the Philadelphia Union academy product anchoring their back line.
WINGBACKS
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Starters: Sergiño Dest, Antonee “Jedi” Robinson
Backups: Tim Weah, Max Arfsten
Just missed out: Joe Scally, John Tolkin, Kristoffer Lund
Dest is more unpredictable going forward than the straight-running Weah, and he finished last year strong for the U.S. while Weah was injured. Jedi is a lock on the other side if available. There’s real concern on that front after the veteran went unused in Fulham’s last two Premier League matches, including Wednesday’s 3-0 loss away to Manchester City.
Arfsten, Jedi’s understudy, is a lock after leading the national team in assists in 2025, his first with the squad. Scally has had a rough few weeks, scoring an own goal and then getting dropped from Gladbach’s lineup for last Saturday’s 1-1 tie with Leverkusen.
HOLDING MIDFIELDERS
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Starters: Tyler Adams, Tanner Tessmann
Backups: Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Roldan
Just missed out: Johnny Cardoso, Gianluca Busio, Luca de la Torre, Aidan Morris, Yunus Musah, Timmy Tillman
The early return of Adams from a December MCL tear is good news for Bournemouth, for which Adams was available but stayed on the substitutes bench in Tuesday’s 2-1 win over Everton, even if Pochettino would likely prefer that the New York-born destroyer not rush back and risk re-injury.
Tessmann’s career season continues in France; the Alabama native has gone this distance in Lyon’s last three Ligue 1 games and has logged almost 2,000 minutes across all competitions this campaign.
Idle since late last year, Berhalter and Roldan have remained ahead of Cardoso (who is injured again for Atlético Madrid) and Musah (who has featured sparingly for Atalanta in 2025-26) all winter. The MLS-based duo, who were superb for the United States in the autumn wins over Australia and Uruguay, will soon begin their seasons with the Vancouver and Seattle Sounders, respectively.
Morris, a mainstay for Premier League promotion favorites Middlesbrough, would appear to be the next man up. The 24-year-old started that 5-1 thrashing of the Uruguayans, the final U.S. match of last year, and is pushing hard for the final central midfield spot.
ATTACKING MIDFIELDERS
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Starters: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie
Backups: Brenden Aaronson, Diego Luna, Malik Tillman, Alex Zendejas
Just missed out: Gio Reyna
Barring something unexpected, Pulisic and McKennie — possibly the USMNT’s most important players — are no-brainers. Aaronson’s stellar recent performances for Leeds have surely impressed Poch, while Tillman is rounding back into form following a quiet few months with Bayer Leverkusen. The big mover here is Zendejas, who last weekend scored a stunning goal for Club America in his first start since sustaining an undisclosed injury in November.
Zendejas was later subbed out of the same match with a fresh ailment. But he still pulled ahead of Reyna, who remains out indefinitely with what Borussia Mönchengladbach is calling a “muscular problem.” Reyna has played just 466 minutes for ‘Gladbach this season, registering one assist, and could be running out of time to make the World Cup squad with the March roster announcement now around a month away. Although not impossible, his odds of Reyna surviving the cut this summer would seem slim if he can’t participate in next month’s games.
Meanwhile, Luna kicks off the new MLS season with Real Salt Lake on Feb. 21.
STRIKERS
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Starter: Folarin Balogun
Backups: Ricardo Pepi, Patrick Agyemang
Just missed out: Haji Wright , Damion Downs, Brian White, Josh Sargent
What seemed like an encouraging striker situation at the beginning of the season, with most of the names listed above either scoring regularly or just returning from injury, is less so four months away from the Americans’ World Cup opener.
Despite managing just one goal in nine outings for Monaco so far in 2026, Balogun remains the incumbent up top. But the Monaco man has cooled since the fall, when he scored in three straight UEFA Champions League matches and three of the United States’ final five games of 2025.
Pepi has missed most of the last 12 months with injury, considerably dropping his stock, though the broken arm he suffered playing for PSV last month should be sufficiently healed ahead of the March friendlies.
If fit and healthy, those are probably Pochettino’s first two options. Agyemang is climbing fast, however; Big Pat has three goals in his last five appearances for Derby County and nine on the season — just one fewer than Wright.
