United States men’s national team coach Mauricio Pochettino has selected his 26-man roster for the upcoming World Cup, with Borussia Mönchengladbach duo Gio Reyna and Joe Scally as well as Club América attacker Alejandro Zendejas among the notable inclusions, sources confirmed to ESPN.
The roster, which was first reported by The Guardian, will be officially unveiled Tuesday at an event in New York City.
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AC Milan attacker Christian Pulisic, Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie and Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams are included as expected. Overall 13 U.S. players will be taking part in their first World Cup.
Reyna also made the team, as first reported by The Athletic, despite the attacker failing to start a game for his club since December. But such is Reyna’s creativity, and ability to deliver the unexpected, that Pochettino ultimately decided to include him in the roster.
Arguably the biggest surprise was the omission of Lyon midfielder Tanner Tessmann. Tessmann had been shut down by Lyon because of what was reported to be a muscle injury, but he was expected to recover in time for the World Cup.
Pochettino’s history with the U.S. has been to err on the side of caution when it came to injuries, and he has shown no hesitation in the past to leave players off of a U.S. roster if he felt they weren’t fit. That appears to be the case here.
Otherwise, the roster mirrors ESPN’s final USMNT Big Board that was published Friday. Zendejas made a late push with some impressive displays for América in the Liga MX playoffs, with four goals and two assists over his last five games of the season.
Zendejas’ inclusion is likely the main reason why there was no room for Real Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna, who was presumed to be a favorite of Pochettino’s after delivering some sharp performances over the past year. Instead he’ll have to wait for the next cycle.
The roster is heavy on defenders, with 10 such players included. Pochettino opted to include Reyna’s club teammate, Scally, in the mix, despite him seemingly being lower on the depth chart than players such as PSV Eindhoven’s Sergiño Dest and Villarreal’s Alex Freeman.
Scally has shown some versatility with Gladbach this season, having played as an outside back, a wingback and a center back at times during the just concluded campaign, and that no doubt served him well.
With Tessmann not in the squad, the team does seem light in the center of midfield. The central quartet includes Adams, McKennie, the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Sebastian Berhalter and Seattle Sounders’ Cristian Roldan, though Bayer Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman could slide back into a deeper role if needed.
While Pochettino will name his roster Tuesday, he will have until June 1 to officially confirm the list of players with FIFA. After that point, players can only be replaced in the event of serious injury or illness up to 24 hours before the team’s opening match.
The USMNT begins its World Cup on June 12 against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Full USMNT World Cup roster:
Goalkeepers (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire, 0 caps/0 goals), Matt Freese (New York City, 14/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53/0)
Defenders (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew, 18/1), Sergiño Dest (PSV, 37/2), Alex Freeman (Villarreal, 15/2), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse, 27/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, 80/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, 36/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, 52/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati, 38/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 24/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic, 6/0)
Midfielders (4): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth, 52/2), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus, 64/12), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45/0)
Attacking midfielders/wingers (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, 57/9), Christian Pulisic (Milan, 84/32), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 36/9), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen, 28/3), Tim Weah (Marseille, 49/7), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América, 13/2)
Strikers (3): Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco, 25/8), Ricardo Pepi (PSV, 35/13), Haji Wright (Coventry City, 20/7)
