The roster Mauricio Pochettino was set to unveil on May 26 showed up a few days earlier instead, leaked handful-by-handful (via The Guardian and The Athletic) until the whole 26 was out in the open.

Most of it is what you'd guess. Pulisic, McKennie, Adams, the strikers having the best seasons of their lives. The arguments are at the edges, and the loudest one has a name: Diego Luna.

This is reported, not official, but a few things are worth saying.

1. Leaving Diego Luna home is the call this whole summer gets measured against

Let me be clear, Diego Luna is not the most talented American soccer player, but he's one of the most important. Christian Pulisic is quite possibly the most talented US-born soccer player ever, but I think a lot of American fans not only see themselves in Luna, they see representation, whether through mental health struggles, success through adversity, the immigrant story, or whatever it may be. That's the vibes only portion.

Secondarily, the talent is undeniable. Luna has worked up from the El Paso Locomotive to starring on Real Salt Lake. He's currently in form. He has four goals and three assists in six starts this season, and yes he's dealing with a muscle injury right now, but Chris Richards just tore multiple ligaments in his ankle and was picked. Luna's been held out by his team explicitly to recover so he could play for the USMNT. It's hard to frame Gio or Luna, Gio or Zendejas, because these are 26 separate decisions. There's a lot of ways Luna could've made it on this roster, Pochettino decided he didn't fit.

2. Gio Reyna is on the team for his ceiling, not his minutes

I think a lot of people find it very easy to punch down at Gio Reyna given the Luna cut. Piling your criticisms on Reyna ain't it. Poch was always going to lean towards players with European experience, because that is where the best players in this tournament play. Still, this is the riskiest pick of the bunch.

Much has been made about the contribution Reyna made for Borussia Mönchengladbach this season: 520 minutes, four starts, one goal. Reyna is probably not going to be the goal scoring machine we want this WC. He's here for the set up. His per 90 numbers are much more forgiving, with high marks in duels, crosses, key passes, and defensive contributions. Small sample size, but that's what Poch is hedging.

3. Alex Zendejas is the pleasant surprise in the final 26

I was pretty sure Alex Zendejas wouldn't make this team, so if you want to put your Diego Luna hope into someone, it's him. In 12 matches for Club America, Zendejas has six goals and four assists, and most recently notched two goals and an assist against Pumas in the Liga MX Clausura quarterfinals. For America, Zendejas has a relentless engine, and runs all over the opposition's half. He's a chance creator and finishes games on the high-end of touches.

4. Folarin Balogun may save us all, but if it's not him, it could be Pepi or Haji

Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright have a combined 55 goals in all competitions this year. They play in different competitions, but Wright's Coventry were just promoted to the PL, and Pepi's PSV absolutely destroyed the competition in Eredivisie, winning the title in April. They all offer different flavors, where Balogun is a mobile all-round striker, Pepi is a clinical, ruthless in-box poacher and Haji is a high-volume shooter with strength and a 6-foot-4 frame. All are in good form.

5. The injury caveat

The last thing to know about this squad is that it's not set in stone. US Soccer has until June 1 to finalize the group, and of course, this was just a leak, the real roster release is on May 26. Chris Richards is recovering from torn ligaments, Johnny Cardoso missed his chance at the World Cup due to ankle injury. Patrick Agyemang has a torn achilles. And Tyler Adams just returned from an MCL in February. A lot can happen in nine days and injuries have already made a lot the roster decisions for Poch.

United States Roster

Reported May 23, 2026 (via The Guardian; official reveal May 26). Final 26 due by June 1.

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

  • Chris Brady, GK (Chicago Fire)
  • Matt Freese, GK (New York City FC)
  • Matt Turner, GK (New England Revolution)
  • Max Arfsten, DEF (Columbus Crew)
  • Sergiño Dest, DEF (PSV Eindhoven)
  • Alex Freeman, DEF (Villarreal)
  • Mark McKenzie, DEF (Toulouse)
  • Tim Ream, DEF (Charlotte FC)
  • Chris Richards, DEF (Crystal Palace)
  • Antonee Robinson, DEF (Fulham)
  • Miles Robinson, DEF (FC Cincinnati)
  • Joe Scally, DEF (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
  • Auston Trusty, DEF (Celtic)
  • Tyler Adams, MID (Bournemouth)
  • Brenden Aaronson, MID (Leeds United)
  • Sebastian Berhalter, MID (Vancouver Whitecaps)
  • Weston McKennie, MID (Juventus)
  • Christian Pulisic, MID (AC Milan)
  • Gio Reyna, MID (Borussia Mönchengladbach)
  • Cristian Roldan, MID (Seattle Sounders)
  • Malik Tillman, MID (Bayer Leverkusen)
  • Tim Weah, MID (Marseille)
  • Alejandro Zendejas, MID (Club América)
  • Folarin Balogun, FWD (AS Monaco)
  • Ricardo Pepi, FWD (PSV Eindhoven)
  • Haji Wright, FWD (Coventry City)

RELATED: SV Elversberg, Built on Coal and Eye-Drops

RELATED: World Cup 2026 Squad Tracker: Here's Every Roster

Follow Dang Journal on Bluesky for more.