Four days before United States manager Mauricio Pochettino was set to announce his 26-man roster for the World Cup, a leak of his selections hit the internet, with two key players set to miss out on a call-up.
The US Soccer Federation was set to broadcast a multi-hour special on Fox Sports from New York City where the roster would be announced to eager fans. However, on Saturday, reporters Pablo Maurer and Jeff Rueter of The Guardian obtained and released what is believed to be the full roster, to the surprise of fans across the country.
A majority of the 26 names were expected to make the team, including AC Milan winger Christian Pulisic, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, Fulham fullback Antonee 'Jedi' Robinson, and Bournemouth holding midfielder Tyler Adams. But recent injuries appear to have led Pochettino to leave behind Real Salt Lake winger Diego Luna and Olympique Lyon defensive player Tanner Tessmann.
Tessmann, who usually plays as a holding midfielder but has been occasionally used in a deeper role under Pochettino, has been dealing with a muscle strain since earlier this month.
Full Leaked Roster
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution). Defenders (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño 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 (4): Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders). Attacking midfielders/wingers (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Christian Pulisic (Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América). Strikers (3): Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Haji Wright (Coventry City).
Rather than take Tessmann, Pochettino's midfield is made up of four players, three of which made the roster in Qatar. Two of those, Adams and McKennie, are considered the best midfielders in the United States' pool and will likely start at the World Cup. The other two are midfielders with considerable MLS experience: Cristian Roldan, who returns to the World Cup stage, and Sebastian Berhalter.
Sebastian is the son of former USMNT manager Gregg Berhalter, who was sacked after the United States crashed out of the 2024 Copa America in the group stages. What would make Berhalter's inclusion all the more interesting is that Borussia Monchengladbach attacking midfielder Gio Reyna is also on the roster. Reyna was at the center of one of the biggest scandals in American soccer history when his parents, Claudio and Danielle Reyna, filed a report against Gregg Berhalter following the 2022 World Cup.
The Reynas filed this report after frustration over Gio's lack of involvement during the World Cup. A subsequent leak of comments Berhalter made at a leadership conference, referring to the poor behavior of an anonymous player later revealed to be Gio, led to Danielle attempting to damage the coach's career. Following the release of Berhalter's comments, Danielle contacted former USSF sporting director Earnie Stewart and USMNT general manager Brian McBride to inform them of a physical altercation between Berhalter and his wife in 1992. After a prolonged investigation, the federation found this to be an isolated incident and that it did not disqualify him from being a coach.
Reyna's inclusion in the 2026 roster comes as a shock considering his career since 2022. A series of injuries and poor performances at the club level led to him leaving Borussia Dortmund last summer for Borussia Monchengladbach. In 20 appearances across all competitions, Reyna managed only one goal and one assist in 577 total minutes. The odd man out for Reyna's inclusion is Luna, who plays a similar position. Luna has also been dealing with an injury in 2026 but was still expected to be included due to his strong performance last summer, including four goals and one assist in nine MLS games. Luna was a shining star for the United States at the 2025 Gold Cup and had been featured in World Cup advertisements for Nike and Fox Sports. A USSF spokesperson told The Guardian that Pochettino had nothing to do with the players selected for those advertisements, some of which were produced months ago.
Another surprise inclusion is Alejandro Zendejas, who has been one of the top forwards in North America for the past two seasons but has not featured much under Pochettino, logging only 139 minutes across six matches, the last of which was on September 9 against Japan. Of the 26 names on the roster, half are making their World Cup debut, including goalkeeper Matt Freese, who is likely to start in net. Half of the defensive call-ups are also debutants, such as Crystal Palace center back Chris Richards and FC Cincinnati center back Miles Robinson, both of whom would likely have made the 2022 roster were it not for injuries. Richards' selection comes after reports of a foot injury towards the tail end of Crystal Palace's season. The other notable debutants are strikers Folarin Balogun and Ricardo Pepi. Pepi, who plays for PSV, was passed over at the last World Cup in favor of Jesus Ferreira, who has not featured for the USMNT since the 2023 Gold Cup. Balogun, the Monaco striker, obtained a one-time switch to play for the USMNT in May 2023 after previously representing England at the youth level.
