USMNT squad reveal: Mauricio Pochettino announces FIFA World Cup 2026 roster with Gio Reyna in, Diego Luna out

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Speaking about the biggest surprise of the roster, he said: "We all know about Gio. He has an amazing talent and experience too. We need to trust in players with experience. Him in November camp was fantastic, he brings things and I believe he can help." 

Speaking on how he communicated the decisions to the players: "We implemented on day one how we wanted to communicate with the players. That communication didn't change, regardless of the competition. Respect is one of our first principles. When I didn't make the roster, I didn't want the coach to talk to me about it. I feel the same way with this because I don't think it is the way. That doesn't mean we don't care about the players. I understand the players side of things." 

Here's what Pochettino said about how injuries had an impact on the roster: "They always do, it happens with all coaches. We use all of the advice that we are given. We tried to find the right balance with the 26 players, the right players are the best players. I know what it means to be out of the roster. I waited 10 years when I played to make the roster. I know it is painful. It was painful for me, but it is my job. We want players that will be together and dictate the way we want to play. We care about the human beings."

The USMNT coach Mauricio Pochettino is currently speaking after the end of the roster reveal event and spoke about the injury of Chris Richards: "We don't know. We'll see tomorrow if he plays (for Crystal Palace in the UEFA Conference League final), and then we will decide…we have time."

• A total of 25 players on the roster earned caps in official competitions this cycle, with 12 players hitting double digits in that time.• With a goal and two assists at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, Pulisic is one of only four USMNT players to collect three or more goal contributions in a single edition of the tournament, joining Bert Patenaude (4 goals - 1930), Brian McBride (2 goals, 1 assist - 2002) and Landon Donovan (3 goals – 2010).
• Thirteen players are dual nationals: Folarin Balogun, Sebastian Berhalter, Sergiño Dest, Christian Pulisic, Mark McKenzie, Ricardo Pepi, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Cristian Roldan, Malik Tillman, Matt Turner, Tim Weah and Alex Zendejas.
• Seven players debuted for the United States during the 2026 World Cup cycle: Alex Zendejas (Jan. 25, 2023 vs. Serbia), Auston Trusty (March 24, 2023 vs. Grenada), Folarin Balogun (June 15, 2023 vs. Mexico), Max Arfsten (Jan. 18, 2025 vs. Venezuela), Alex Freeman and Matt Freese (June 7, 2025 vs. Türkiye) and Sebastian Berhalter (June 10, 2025 vs. Switzerland).

If you want to know more on the players and the roster that will be part of the 2026 World Cup, take a look: 

Mauricio Pochettino names 26-man USMNT roster for 2026 World Cup: Gio Reyna is in, Diego Luna misses out

Pardeep Cattry

With 84 caps, Christian Pulisic is the most experienced player on the roster, followed by fellow 2022 World Cup veterans Tim Ream (80), Weston McKennie (64), Brenden Aaronson (57), Matt Turner (53), Tyler Adams (52), Antonee Robinson (52) and Tim Weah (49).

At the opening match against Paraguay on June 12, the 26-player roster will hold an average age of 26 years and 332 days, ranking the 2026 roster as the fifth youngest the United States has sent to a World Cup. The four youngest: 1990 (24 years, 25 days), 2022 (25 years, 216 days), 1930 (26 years, 226 days), 1994 (26 years, 285 days).

Thirteen players – half the roster – were part of the U.S. squad at the 2022 FIFA World Cup, tying the U.S. mark for the highest number of returnees between consecutive World Cups first set between the 1994 and 1998 editions. The 13 returnees take the total number of USMNT players selected for multiple World Cups to 56. They are: Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Cristian Roldan, Joe Scally, Matt Turner, Tim Weah and Haji Wright.

The roster reveal is about to end, few minutes left and we will have out 26-players squad. 

USMNT 2026 World Cup roster in full: 

• Goalkeepers:  Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
• Defenders: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergino Dest (PSV), 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: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)
• Forwards: Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Tim Weah (Marseille). 

As expected, both Serie A stars Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are in the roster as well. 

The rumour is now confirmed: Gio Reyna made it and will be part of the roster this summer. 

Despite the injury, Chris Richards made it to the list. Not a surprise. 

We're going in number order and the first name is.. Matt Turner! 

Stay tuned: we are about the get our roster! 

Speaking to FOX, Tyler Adams says: "It's extremely exciting, especially to have the opportunity to play in the 2022 World Cup and know about the emotions then. It's an amazing feeling to play in one now at home, it's extremely special. To give something back to this amazing county would be something incredible. Fearlessness. I think we've had that since Mauricio has come into the squad on Day One. We learned about it a bit in 2022, but I know we have the players to do it."

According to the latest leaks and reports, Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Gio Reyna is going to his second straight World Cup representing the United States men's national team. 

On the surface, this may not seem significant, as in 2022, Reyna was looked at as one of the top young talents in the world. The last four years have not been kind to Reyna's career though, and as he struggles for playing time in Germany others in his position, like Diego Luna, have starred in Major League Soccer. It's a big decision for Pochettino and one that comes with a lot of questions. 

While only Pochettino can explicitly say why he has taken Reyna to the World Cup, but the Argentine boss has stated that players need to be playing well for their clubs and for the USMNT to be in consideration, and that rule obviously hasn't applied to Reyna. He's only playing 510 Bundesliga minutes this season. When looking at Americans in the top five European leagues, 26 have made appearances so far this season, and Reyna's league minutes put him at only 19th of those 26.

We're about to start with the event in New York City! We will know the squad named by Mauricio Pochettino and the 26 players that will be part of the tournament this summer. 

Injuries have impacted squad selection, with Johnny Cardoso and Patrick Agyemang set to miss the World Cup due to injuries that they have suffered, while Chris Richards also deals with fitness issues, although his foot injury is not expected to be serious. This squad unveiling will kick off the longest period that Pochettino has had with the senior national team ahead of a tournament, providing him with time to tweak things.

• Date: Tuesday, May 26 | Time: 3 p.m. ET
• Location: Rooftop at Pier 17 -- New York City
• TV: FOX | Live stream: Fubo TV (Try for free)

When figuring out why Gio Reyna reportedly is on the roster, here's a quick view at what he can bring, which is quite a ceiling raiser.

The sun is out, and it's time to announce a World Cup squad in New York City. By the end of the day, we'll know who Mauricio Pochettino will be taking to the World Cup, and can start getting some ideas of how they'll attack the World Cup. The midfield will likely be reliant on Tyler Adams but it's anyone's guess as to how the top attackers could shake out.