One.
Thatap how many World Cup knockout-round matches the United States men’s national soccer team has won in its history. And that came way back in 2002.
Since then, Americans have bowed out in the Round of 16 twice, failed to advance out of the group stage once and infamously missed the World Cup entirely in 2018.
Now, with the 2026 tournament set to be held across the U.S., Mexico and Canada, the USMNT is looking to break that drought on home soil.
Head coach Mauricio Pochettino’s 26-man roster features many of the mainstays from 2022 — eight started every game in Qatar — along with 13 players who will be experiencing the World Cup stage for the first time.
As the U.S. prepares for its Group D matchups against Paraguay (June 12, 9 p.m. ET in Inglewood, Calif.), Australia (June 19, 3 p.m. in Seattle) and Turkiye (June 25, 10 p.m. ET in Inglewood, Calif.), here are nine names to know on Pochettino’s squad:
Christian Pulisic
The 27-year-old Pulisic has been the face of U.S. men’s soccer since his teens, and he heads into his second World Cup with momentum after notching a goal and an assist in the first 20 minutes of the Americans’ 3-2 exhibition win over Senegal last Sunday. The goal was Pulisic’s first since last December — breaking a drought of 21 matches without one — and his first in international play since Nov. 18, 2024, when he potted one in a CONCACAF Nations League match against Jamaica.
Folarin Balogun
A USMNT recruiting coup, Balogun is a Brooklyn-born, London-raised striker whom the U.S. brass convinced to represent his birth nation rather than England. The 24-year-old has nine goals in 26 caps for the United States — including one against Senegal last weekend — and will be playing in his first World Cup. Domestically, he plays with Pulisic at AS Monaco in Italy’s Serie A.
Tyler Adams
Though he isn’t captaining the USMNT like he did at the 2022 World Cup — 38-year-old defender Tim Ream got that nod this time around — Adams remains one of the squad’s most important players. The 27-year-old is known for his steadying presence and reliable defense in the midfield, and with questionable depth behind him, losing Adams to an injury or yellow card suspension could prove disastrous.
Matt Turner/Matt Freese
You can bet that the Americans’ starting World Cup goaltender will be a Matt with New England ties. But will it be Revolution keeper Turner or Harvard product Freese? Turner played every minute for the U.S. at the last World Cup, but struggles during his failed foray into the Premier League opened the door for newcomer Freese, who’s started 14 USMNT matches over the last year. The latter is considered the favorite, but Pochettino has yet to announce his plan in net. If Freese is the guy, as most expect, Turner would play the role of experienced backup.
Chris Richards
The status of Richards’ ankle is one of the biggest questions facing the U.S. ahead of its World Cup opener. The fulcrum of the team’s defense picked up an injury late in his Premier League season with Crystal Palace and did not suit up in the friendly against Senegal. Like Adams, Richards’ importance stems from both his own talent and the considerable dropoff from him to the other options on the Americans’ roster. He was U.S. Soccer’s Men’s Player of the Year for 2025.
Gio Reyna
Reyna’s limited playing time at the 2022 World Cup became the defining controversy of the tournament for the U.S. Of the 11 current players who saw the field in Qatar, his 52 minutes were by far the fewest, sparking harsh criticism from Reyna’s family — his father, Claudio, is a USMNT legend — and public slights from then-head coach Gregg Berhalter, who said the team considered sending the young midfielder home for poor effort. Reyna also didn’t play much during the lead-up to this World Cup (just four starts this season for Borussia Mönchengladbach), but he has a fan in Pochettino. The new U.S. boss raved about the 23-year-old’s “amazing talent” after announcing his squad.
Sebastian Berhalter
Yes, he’s the son of the former USMNT head coach and player. But the younger Berhalter didn’t make his national team debut until after his father was fired in 2024. Since then, he’s earned 11 caps while also starring for the Vancouver Whitecaps, whom he helped lead to an appearance in the 2025 MLS Cup (they lost to Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami). If Sebastian sees action, the Berhalters would become the second U.S. father-son duo to play in the World Cup, joining the Reynas.
Miles Robinson
Robinson is the lone Massachusetts native on the USMNT roster, having grown up in Arlington and played his youth soccer with the Boston Bolts. A ruptured Achilles kept him off the 2022 World Cup squad, and he was viewed as a roster-bubble player entering this year’s selection before ultimately making the cut. Unlikely to be part of Pochettino’s first-choice starting XI, expect Robinson to come off the bench in any of his World Cup appearances.
