What the leaked USMNT World Cup roster says about the squad Mauricio Pochettino built

If reports about the makeup of the U.S. World Cup roster are accurate — and there’s little reason to believe they aren’t — Mauricio Pochettino remained mostly true to his word in selecting a 26-man squad from a pool of players that had been with the team for much of the past nine months.

Although Pochettino will not officially unveil his delegation until a public celebration Tuesday afternoon at South Street Seaport in New York, the Guardian on Saturday reported it has seen the full list.

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Yahoo Sports was not able to independently confirm the roster, but it’s mostly consistent with Pochettino’s preferences in recent months.

There are no major surprises. The most interesting revelations were the reported inclusion of Mexican-based winger Alex Zendejas and the exclusion of midfielder Tanner Tessmann.

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The other candidates apparently missing the cut were midfielders Diego Luna and Aidan Morris. The expected injury omissions included midfielder Johnny Cardoso and forward Patrick Agyemang.

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Tessmann was considered a prime candidate to partner with Tyler Adams in the starting defensive midfield, but the Olympique Lyonnais player was shut down a few weeks ago because of a muscular injury and might not have been on pace to regain full health before the World Cup.

Tessmann, the 2024 Olympic captain, had started once and come off the bench once in each of the past three international windows.

Zendejas, who battled injuries through the fall and winter, was left out of the March camp for friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. But his cleverness and skill set, not to mention his productivity for Liga MX’s Club América, kept him in the U.S. mix. He scored a terrific goal against Japan last September before withdrawing from the October camp with a thigh ailment.

A dual national born in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, Zendejas represented both the U.S. and Mexican youth national teams and played twice for Mexico’s senior team before committing to the U.S. in 2023.

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Luna was a prominent figure for Pochettino in 2025, appearing in all but one of the 18 matches and finishing second on the team in goals (four) and tied for second in assists (four). On the roster bubble when all players were available, a knee injury sidelined him for the start of Real Salt Lake’s season. He bounced back with four goals in a six-game stretch but was not in uniform again Saturday after sitting out last weekend with a muscle injury.

Luna’s RSL teammate, 19-year-old winger Zavier Gozo, created enormous buzz among MLS fans and media with his spectacular start to the season. Having never appeared in a U.S. senior camp, however, he was not a serious World Cup candidate this summer and is seen as a 2030 member, multiple sources said.

A key figure for Middlesbrough in the second-flight English Championship, Morris helped his club advance to Saturday’s promotion playoff final at Wembley Stadium against Hull City, which prevailed, 1-0, on a goal in second-half stoppage time.

The former Columbus Crew standout started one U.S. match in each of the past three international windows. He was passed over for Seattle’s Cristian Roldan, a 2022 World Cup member who Pochettino views as an important leadership link.

Since Agyemang’s Achilles tendon injury last month, there has been no question about which strikers were going to make the World Cup roster: Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright.

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There has also been little uncertainty in the goalkeeping corps: Matt Freese, Matt Turner and Chris Brady. To augment the position, Yahoo Sports has learned that Pochettino has invited a pair of 20-year-olds to camp for training purposes only: Barcelona’s Diego Kochen and Philadelphia’s Andrew Rick.

The defensive selections have also been largely predictable: Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, Auston Trusty and Miles Robinson in the middle, and Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest, Max Arfsten, Alex Freeman and Joe Scally on the outside.

The absence of Tessmann, Morris and Cardoso suggests Pochettino will play with one defensive midfielder (Adams) instead of two.

Miles Robinson and Scally seemed most vulnerable to missing out. But with Richards recovering from an ankle injury that will sideline him Sunday for Crystal Palace’s Premier League finale and possibly the UEFA Conference League final Wednesday vs. Spain’s Rayo Vallecano, Robinson’s stock rose.

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Scally, the youngest member of the 2022 squad, was a full-time starter for Mönchengladbach this season, lining up at right back, right wing or left back.

Once World Cup rosters are submitted to FIFA on June 1, changes are permitted no later than 24 hours before the team’s first match and only in the case of significant injury.

A replacement player must come from a team’s provisional roster, which, in the case of the U.S., was not released publicly.

Attackers and midfielders who started at the 2022 World Cup were never in doubt for the U.S. squad — Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Tyler Adams. They are reportedly joined by 2022 holdovers Brenden Aaronson and Gio Reyna, plus Malik Tillman and Sebastian Berhalter.

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Although Reyna has played sparingly in 2026 for Germany’s Mönchengladbach, Pochettino’s decision to invite him to March camp was a clear sign he was going to make the cut.

Overall, eight players are from MLS, 17 from Europe and one from the Mexican circuit. Half the squad is new to a World Cup roster.

U.S. camp will open next Wednesday at the new national training center in the Atlanta area. Friendlies are slated for May 31 against Senegal in Charlotte and June 6 vs. Germany in Chicago.

The team will then relocate to World Cup base camp in Irvine, California, ahead of the Group D opener vs. Paraguay in Inglewood, California.