Bill ConnellyMar 30, 2026, 12:02 PM ETCloseBill Connelly is a writer for ESPN. He covers college football, soccer and tennis. He has been at ESPN since 2019.Follow on XMultiple Authors
play3:03Is the USMNT ready for the World Cup?The ‘FC TV’ crew react to USMNT’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
play3:14Should the USMNT be concerned with Christian Pulisic’s form?The ‘FC TV’ crew react to the USMNT’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
play1:55Pochettino admits Belgium loss is a ‘reality check’ for the USMNTMauricio Pochettino reacts to the USMNT’s 5-2 loss to Belgium.
play2:54Which host nation will go the furthest in the World Cup?The ‘FC TV’ crew debate which host nation will go the furthest in the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
How far can USMNT go in the World Cup? (2:49)Gab Marcotti and Julien Laurens debate how far the USMNT can go in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. (2:49)
Should the USMNT be concerned with Christian Pulisic’s form?The ‘FC TV’ crew react to the USMNT’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
Pochettino admits Belgium loss is a ‘reality check’ for the USMNTMauricio Pochettino reacts to the USMNT’s 5-2 loss to Belgium.
Which host nation will go the furthest in the World Cup?The ‘FC TV’ crew debate which host nation will go the furthest in the 2026 FIFA World Cup?
Minutes-adjusted average age under Pochettino: 28.4
Minutes-adjusted average age under Pochettino: 30.6
Minutes-adjusted average age under Pochettino: 23.7
Minutes-adjusted average age under Pochettino: 25.1
Minutes-adjusted average age under Pochettino: 24.1
Minutes-adjusted average age under Pochettino: 25.2
As the final whistle blew on its 3-1 defeat to the Netherlands in the 2022 World Cup round of 16, the U.S. men’s national team faced a particularly strange 3.5 years. As co-host of the expanded 2026 World Cup, the team was already qualified and therefore wouldn’t play another truly meaningful match until the World Cup began.
There would be plenty of headlines to come, of course — splitting with Gregg Berhalter, rehiring him, firing him after bombing out of the Copa América group stage, winning two Nations Leagues, losing two Gold Cups, hiring Mauricio Pochettino — and they all had meaning. But the only thing that really mattered was how the team would look in the summer of 2026.
So, too, could a lack of chemistry: Jeff Carlisle’s most recent projected U.S. starters (all of whom are bolded in the sections below) have still never actually seen the pitch together.
– Carlisle: USMNT handed a reality check by Belgium – O’Hanlon: Does the U.S. finally have enough depth to compete? – What’s it like playing for Pochettino? U.S. players sound off
Incumbents who remained involved: 1. Matt Turner (31): 810 minutes under Pochettino 2. Zack Steffen (30): 90 minutes
New names to emerge: 1. Matt Freese (27): 1,170 minutes under Pochettino 2. Patrick Schulte (25): 90 minutes
After his solid performance in Qatar, it was easy to pencil Turner’s name in as the likely starting goalkeeper in 2026. But his struggles at the club level — he barely played after moving to Arsenal in 2022-23, was poor on loan with Nottingham Forest, barely played on loan with Crystal Palace and is now back on loan (from Lyon) with the New England Revolution — opened the door for a usurper. Freese took advantage.
Freese has logged more minutes than Turner under Pochettino, and in Turner’s last two U.S. matches, he has allowed nine goals with a save percentage under 50%. Freese’s shot-stopping statistics and buildup play have both been a bit better, and while it doesn’t feel like there’s a gulf separating these two, Freese certainly seems to have the lead.
There could be a lot of jostling for position on the depth chart here over the coming years, especially if Freese doesn’t completely lock down the No. 1 spot.
Incumbents who remained involved: 1. Tim Ream (38): 1,558 minutes under Pochettino 2. Chris Richards (25): 1,094 minutes 3. Mark McKenzie (27): 899 minutes 4. Miles Robinson (29): 532 minutes 5. Walker Zimmerman (32): 187 minutes 6. Cameron Carter-Vickers (28): 90 minutes
New names to emerge: 1. Tristan Blackmon (29): 174 minutes under Pochettino 2. Auston Trusty (27): 100 minutes 3. George Campbell (24): 88 minutes
Is the USMNT ready for the World Cup?The ‘FC TV’ crew react to USMNT’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
The ‘FC TV’ crew react to USMNT’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
No position group has changed less over the past four years than this one. At times, that feels like a good thing. On Saturday, it did not.
Of the seven center backs who have played at least 90 minutes under Pochettino (not including Scally or Freeman), six will be at least 31 years old in 2030. Granted, this position tends to skew older as a whole, but considering the minutes-adjusted age here is already over 30, and considering the lack of trustworthy depth, new names will desperately need to emerge.
Incumbents who remained involved: 1. Joe Scally (23): 581 minutes under Pochettino 2. Tim Weah (26): 521 minutes 3. Antonee Robinson (28): 356 minutes 4. Sergiño Dest (25): 214 minutes 5. Shaq Moore (29): 121 minutes
New names to emerge: 1. Max Arfsten (24): 1,112 minutes under Pochettino 2. Alex Freeman (21): 1,002 minutes 3. John Tolkin (23): 233 minutes 4. Marlon Fossey (27): 135 minutes 5. Kristoffer Lund (23): 134 minutes 6. Nathan Harriel (24): 121 minutes 7. DeJuan Jones (28): 115 minutes 8. Caleb Wiley (21): 24 minutes
Weah seems more built for a wing-back type of role than full-back, but there are other options out wide. Scally has been fine for both club (Borussia Monchengladbach) and country, while Arfsten and Freeman have both forced their way into the World Cup conversation. Only Ream, Freese and Richards have played more minutes for Pochettino, and while Arfsten’s defensive vulnerabilities are problematic, his five assists for the U.S. are the most of anyone in Pochettino’s tenure.
Freeman’s athleticism — he runs the pitch like he’s the son of a famous American football player (because he is) — recently drew the eye of LaLiga’s Villarreal. He hasn’t played much since joining the Spanish club, but while he may not start in the World Cup, it would be a surprise if either Freeman or Arfsten didn’t make the squad.
Incumbents who remained involved: 1. Tyler Adams (27): 697 minutes under Pochettino 2. Luca De La Torre (27): 590 minutes 3. Yunus Musah (23): 461 minutes 5. Cristian Roldan (30): 332 minutes 6. Johnny Cardoso (24): 216 minutes 7. Gianluca Busio (23): 169 minutes 8. James Sands (25): 64 minutes
New names to emerge: 1. Sebastian Berhalter (24): 730 minutes under Pochettino 2. Tanner Tessmann (24): 615 minutes 3. Aidan Morris (24): 450 minutes 4. Quinn Sullivan (22): 140 minutes 5. Alex Zendejas (28): 139 minutes 6. Emeka Eneli (26): 115 minutes 7. Benjamin Cremaschi (21): 110 minutes
Should the USMNT be concerned with Christian Pulisic’s form?
The ‘FC TV’ crew react to the USMNT’s 5-2 defeat to Belgium.
Here’s another area in which injuries have prevented the first-choice options from seeing much of the field under Pochettino. Tyler Adams has been integral to the United States’ success at times, but he missed most of 2023-24 with injury, started only 21 of 38 Premier League matches with Bournemouth last season and has started only 18 of 31 this season. He was a scratch for this key international window because of a minor injury, too.
Adams’ on-and-off absence has allowed Pochettino to experiment quite a bit, and he seems to have taken a particular shine to Roldan (who had two assists against Australia), Tessmann (who scored against Uruguay) and Morris (who has won a team-best 18 ground duels in this six-match run). And in a delightful turn of events, he seems to like Sebastian Berhalter, the son of the former USMNT coach, quite a bit as well.
Between the guys employed by major clubs (Adams, Lyon’s Tessmann, Atletico Madrid’s Cardoso, Atalanta’s-via-AC-Milan Musah) and Poch’s somewhat surprising recent faves, there are lots of options here. And with Pochettino seemingly preferring McKennie in more of an attacking role, quite a few of them could make the team this summer.
Four years from now, Roldan will be 34, and Adams and McKennie will be 31, but a large batch of the above guys will be either 27 or 28, still in their peak athletic range. And others, like Venezia’s Busio, Houston’s Jack McGlynn (listed as an attacking midfielder below), Philadelphia’s Quinn Sullivan and Parma’s-via-Inter Miami Cremaschi, still have more than enough time to develop further and make themselves obvious options.
Pochettino admits Belgium loss is a ‘reality check’ for the USMNT
Mauricio Pochettino reacts to the USMNT’s 5-2 loss to Belgium.
Incumbents who remained involved: 1. Malik Tillman (23): 1,004 minutes under Pochettino 2. Christian Pulisic (27): 692 minutes 3. Brendan Aaronson (25): 557 minutes 4. Weston McKennie (27): 509 minutes 5. Gio Reyna (23): 145 minutes
New names to emerge: 1. Diego Luna (22): 953 minutes under Pochettino 2. Jack McGlynn (22): 441 minutes 3. Caden Clark (23): 135 minutes 4. Brian Gutiérrez (22): 118 minutes 5. Matko Miljevic (24): 110 minutes 6. Timothy Tillman (27): 90 minutes 7. Indiana Vassilev (25): 86 minutes 8. Paxten Aaronson (22): 54 minutes
Stop me if you’ve heard this before: With a star missing time with injury and/or a need for rest, Pochettino has been able to experiment within this unit. Pulisic has been decent under Pochettino, scoring twice with three assists from 19 chances created, but he has played only 692 minutes in parts of 11 matches. He’s also in a massive productivity slump at the moment. McKennie, meanwhile, has played 509 minutes in seven.
But in their respective absences, Pochettino has gotten long looks at both Bayer Leverkusen’s Malik Tillman and Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna (who is missing this international window after only recently coming back from injury). They’ve produced, too, combining for seven goals and eight assists from 46 chances created.
The long-term prognosis is exciting. Pulisic, McKennie and even Weah could remain excellent options for another World Cup window, and based on their ages, Tillman, Luna, McGlynn, Reyna and most of the other names above can hope to continue improving for a few more years.