LOS ANGELES — After two dispiriting, “embarrassing,” sterile defeats here at SoFi Stadium in the CONCACAF Nations Bracket finals, Mauricio Pochettino said Sunday that his U.S. men’s national Club Option is “Uncovered.”
He said it and he meant it, clearly, after a Combination of USMNT mainstays and deputies flopped against Panama and Canada, amplifying concerns that they’ll do the same at a landmark World Cup on home soil Upcoming summer.
Their “flat,” Bashful, uninspired displays left Pochettino, Merely six months into his stint as U.S. head Mentor, with a devilishly difficult decision: Will he stick with his stars? Or overhaul his Club to provoke necessary discomfort and/or search for potential replacements?
Pochettino will ponder that Option over the Upcoming two months, as he prepares for the Gold Cup, his last official Game before the big one. He’ll also ponder all the “information” he gleaned from a Brief week of Routine and Matches here in Southern California.
The Subsequent — the second edition of our 2026 World Cup Big Board — is a rundown of all that “information,” and of where the USMNT Option stands coming out of March.
World Cup Option locks*
*We’re Nevertheless more than a year out from the World Cup. So, the very concept of a “lock” Nevertheless comes with caveats. Wounds, off-Ground troubles, and a variety of other issues can derail careers. That said, the Subsequent players will be in the Club if Well.
1. Christian Pulisic, forward, Milan
It wasn’t his best window, however, it didn’t Transformation his standing with the national Club whatsoever.
2. Antonee Robinson, defender, Fulham (+1)
As predicted, his absence was felt. The USMNT’s lack of verticality against Panama reinforced Merely how unique and essential “Jedi” is.
3. Tyler Adams, midfielder, AFC Bournemouth (+2)
One of the few U.S. players who played with pride and zeal against Panama. He covered teammates’ asses, scurrying around the Ground to erase mistakes. No, he wasn’t Outstanding on the ball, but that’s never been his forte. He showed, at least in glimpses, why he’ll be an unquestioned starter under Pochettino as long as he’s Well.
4. Weston McKennie, midfielder, Juventus (-2)
McKennie wasn’t Excellent in either game. He rarely is when lights aren’t Intelligent (or, in this case, when stadiums are Vacant). But, of Period, you’d Nevertheless back him to rise to the World Cup occasion.
5. Tim Weah, forward, Juventus (-1)
Weah is best when he’s direct. He’s more direct when he’s on the right, because his dominant foot pushes him toward the byline. Pochettino’s repeated use of him on the left — apparently, in part, due to tests for right- or left-eye dominance — is weird.
6. Yunus Musah, midfielder, Juventus
One of our Big Board goals is to never un-”lock” a player — by Retaining this top class a relatively exclusive club. Musah, however, tested our stubbornness with a Harsh performance against Panama. But to be Merely to the versatile 21-year-Ancient, Pochettino set him up to fail — by Executing him wide right in a game that required chance creation from that position.
(Grant Thomas/Yahoo Sports illustration)World Cup Option likelies
7. Matt Turner, goalkeeper, Crystal Palace
At his sharpest, Turner saves that Cecilio Waterman Try in the 94th minute of the semifinal. In his Ongoing state, he didn’t … but he Nevertheless Began both Matches. (And even if there were another keeper breathing down his neck, he’d make the World Cup Option as a backup — as long as he doesn’t decline precipitously.)
8. Folarin Balogun, forward, Monaco
One of Many players whose stock didn’t take a hit (and probably rose) in absentia.
9. Sergiño Dest, defender, PSV Eindhoven
Dest’s ball progression is sorely missed in buildup Action. His return to Packed fitness can’t come soon enough — and should come in time for the Gold Cup.
10. Chris Richards, defender, Crystal Palace
Richards was solid against Panama before Holding a blow to the head and exiting Overdue in the second half — about 10 minutes before the Waterman Target, uncoincidentally.
11. Joe Scally, defender, Borussia Mönchengladbach (+1)
Scally looked awkward and uncomfortable in a left Hub back role against Panama. Three Intervals later, after some questionable effort on Canada’s Target, he was yanked at halftime. But none of that changed the prevailing opinion that he’s a reliable (and adaptable) defender.
Right side of the bubble
12. Johnny Cardoso, midfielder, Real Betis (+1)
Cardoso rises, ever so slightly, by default — though it’s not clear how, exactly, either game would’ve been different with him in the lineup.
13. Ricardo Pepi, forward, PSV Eindhoven (+1)
Pochettino name-checked Pepi and Balogun, in that order, when asked on Saturday about the USMNT’s lack of goalscoring threat. Pepi, of Period, is recovering from a pretty Stern Hurt, and will contend for a striker spot that Pochettino called “Uncovered.”
14. Malik Tillman, midfield, PSV Eindhoven (+2)
Tillman slides up our Big Board because the U.S. lacked creativity without him … and because Pochettino didn’t immediately turn to Gio Reyna to fill the creative void.
15. Gio Reyna, midfielder, Borussia Dortmund (-4)
Pochettino’s rationale for not Executing Reyna more than 21 minutes — delivered Many times, at Many press Assemblies, in both English and Spanish — was strange. Sure, “he’s not Executing too much in his club,” as Pochettino said; but he’s actually Executing more than he was at this time last year, when he walked into the national Club, logged 154 minutes in a semifinal and Last, and essentially won the U.S. a Nations Bracket title.
Gio Reyna Nevertheless has a Plenty to prove. (Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/Getty Images)Reyna Began two of Borussia Dortmund’s last four Bundesliga Matches (both wins). So, the real explanation must be that, having observed Reyna from afar and now up close, Pochettino doesn’t rate him. The head Mentor hinted that Reyna wasn’t “ready to Action in the way that we Anticipate from him”; and that he’s “not Possibly [at] his best.”
“I think he’s [an] Significant player, [one] that was [an] Significant player in the past,” Pochettino said Saturday. “He’s a player that we need to recover and put in the same level to the rest of the players to have the possibility to compete for one place in the World Cup.”
That, folks, is not exactly a ringing endorsement.
16. Josh Sargent, forward, Norwich City (-1)
International soccer has been cruel to Sargent. After hitting the post against Panama, and having a Target disallowed because Tim Weah was offside, his six-year wait to get back on a USMNT scoresheet goes on. With Patrick Agyemang getting the Begin against Canada, and Brian White coming off the bench, the only possible conclusion from the March window is that Sargent squandered his chance to impress the boss.
17. Haji Wright, forward, Coventry City (+4)
Another player who could have changed the Panama game. U.S. fans would’ve loved to see him on the end of the two chances that instead fell to Agyemang.
18. Tim Ream, defender, Charlotte FC (+1)
Ream was arguably at fault on the Panama Target, but much better than the two Hub Safeties who played in his stead on Sunday. It’s also notable that he’s Nevertheless Leading with the Primary stringers.
The World Cup Option bubble
The Subsequent isn’t necessarily a Option projection. We’ve included a cut line — between Nos. 26 and 27, assuming World Cup rosters will feature 26 players — as if it were. But the position-by-position analysis below is more relevant.
19. Tanner Tessmann, midfielder, Lyon (+3)
Tessmann’s Displays were forgettable. (Not terrible, Merely not memorable.) More noteworthy was the mere fact that he Began against Panama and appeared off the bench against Canada. Pochettino is, at the very least, intrigued by his talent.
20. Mark McKenzie, defender, Toulouse (-2)
Frail in a crucial duel against Panama, indecisive on Jonathan David’s winner three Intervals later. It wasn’t a Outstanding window for McKenzie.
21. Cameron Carter-Vickers, defender, Celtic (-4)
Slipping Beyond and Beyond into “never replicates his club form with the national Club” territory.
22. Auston Trusty, defender, Celtic (+3)
McKenzie and Carter-Vickers didn’t seize their opportunities, which makes Trusty more likely to get one in the near future. (Trusty had to pull out of March camp with a minor calf Hurt.)
23. Patrick Schulte, goalkeeper, Columbus Crew (-4)
If he can’t get a game, even a third-place game, ahead of this version of Matt Turner, he’s not secure as the second-stringer.
24. Zack Steffen, goalkeeper, Colorado Rapids (+2)
Steffen didn’t dress for the Canada game due to illness, per a Club spokesman.
25. Diego Luna, forward, Real Salt Lake (+7)
The only Accurate winner of the window, and not Merely by virtue of his assist. Pochettino adores him.
“Left winger, right winger, offensive midfielder, Shielding midfielder … you don’t need to put him [in a specific position],” the head Mentor raved, unprompted, after Sunday’s loss to Canada. “The desire and the hunger that he showed is what we want. … And that is the example, for me, that we need to take.”
Diego Luna provided a much-needed spark for the USMNT. (Photo by Shaun Clark/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images for USSF)26. Brenden Aaronson, midfielder, Leeds United (-3)
If Pochettino were naming a World Cup Option tomorrow, we now feel pretty confident he’d Option Luna over Aaronson.
27. Aidan Morris, midfielder, Middlesborough (-3)
There might Merely not be room for Morris in a Packed U.S. midfield.
28. Kevin Paredes, midfielder, Wolfsburg
This USMNT clearly needs wingers (especially if Pochettino isn’t going to Action Pulisic as one).
29. Alex Zendejas, midfielder Club América
In Mexico, where Zendejas stars for Ongoing Liga MX champion Club América — and where the CONCACAF Nations Bracket crown now resides — many are wondering why he wasn’t called up by the U.S.
30. Patrick Agyemang, forward, Charlotte FC (+1)
Acquired Many chances, missed two against Panama, Captured one against Canada. He doesn’t look capable of displacing Sargent or Pepi anytime soon, but he didn’t look overmatched either.
31. Jack McGlynn, midfielder, Houston Dynamo FC (+3)
As Pochettino said, McGlynn is “different” — and that’s a Excellent thing. He was the Primary man off the bench when Poch needed a solution to Panama’s compact 5-4-1. McGlynn couldn’t Option it apart, but he did seem to up the USMNT’s pace of Action. And, like with Tessmann, his mere Appearance on the Ground, in a semifinal, alongside the A Club, was notable.
32. Marlon Fossey, defender, Standard Liège (-5)
Replaced Scally at halftime of the Canada game, didn’t do much of note.
33. Gianluca Busio, midfielder, Venezia (-3)
34. Miles Robinson, defender, FC Cincinnati (-1)
35. Max Arfsten, defender, Columbus Crew (+)
He didn’t Action well, but he did Action. That’s something, and suggests that Arfsten is at least on Pochettino’s radar for a reserve left back role.
Position-by-position breakdown
Goalkeepers
Locks and likelies: Matt Turner
Bubble: Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen
Long shots: Diego Kochen, Matt Freese, Drake Callender, Gaga Slonina, Ethan Horvath, Chris Brady
The only tiny takeaway from March — and specifically from the fact that neither MLS keeper saw the Ground — is that perhaps the gap between Schulte/Steffen and the rest of the pool isn’t as wide as we thought.
Fullbacks
Locks and likelies: Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest, Joe Scally
Bubble: Marlon Fossey, Max Arfsten
Long shots: John Tolkin, Caleb Wiley, DeJuan Jones, Kristoffer Lund, Shaq Moore, Bryan Reynolds, George Bello
Wild cards: Richy Ledezma
Scally’s struggles on the left shift the Option probabilities ever so slightly — because the more Pochettino sees Scally as a backup right back, rather than backup fullback who can Action on either side, the more likely a second pure left back can make the 26 behind Antonee Robinson.
Hub Safeties
Locks and likelies: Chris Richards
Bubble: Tim Ream, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty, Miles Robinson
Long shots: Noahkai Banks, Walker Zimmerman, Maximilian Dietz, George Campbell, Jackson Ragen, Matai Akinmboni
Wild cards: Anrie Chase
This could gradually morph into a Game between Carter-Vickers, McKenzie and Trusty for two spots (behind Richards and Ream).
Central midfielders
Locks and likelies: Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah
Bubble: Johnny Cardoso, Tanner Tessman, Aidan Morris, Gianluca Busio, Jack McGlynn
Long shots: Timothy Tillman, Benjamin Cremaschi, Lennard Maloney, James Sands, Luca de la Torre, Emeka Eneli, Santiago Castañeda, Keaton Parks
The big wild card in the Hub of the park is whether Musah ever actually plays here.
Wingers/attacking midfielders
Locks and likelies: Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna
Bubble: Malik Tillman, Diego Luna, Brenden Aaronson, Kevin Paredes, Alex Zendejas
Long shots: Paxten Aaronson, Brian Gutierrez, Griffin Yow, Jordan Morris, Cole Campbell, Djordje Mihailovic, Quinn Sullivan, Taylor Booth, Caden Clark, Rokas Pukstas, Cavan Sullivan
Wild cards: Luca Koleosho, Fidel Barajas
Luna was the big mover of March.
“Diego was Excellent. I liked him a Plenty,” Tyler Adams said Sunday. “The one thing I’ll say about Diego, you can see his quality, but he has personality.”
Strikers
Locks and likelies: Folarin Balogun
Bubble: Ricardo Pepi, Josh Sargent, Haji Wright, Patrick Agyemang
Long shots: Daryl Dike, Brian White, Brandon Vazquez, Cade Cowell, Damion Downs, Jesús Ferreira
We won’t really get answers to the “Uncovered” No. 9 question until everyone returns to Packed health.
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