USA reveals final 26-player World Cup team with five Premier League stars included
United States manager Mauricio Pochettino has announced his 26-player squad for the 2026 World Cup, featuring five Premier League stars.
The USMNT revealed their team at a special event on Tuesday, where Pochettino also held a press conference to talk about his decisions.
Some of the big names picked include AC Milan’s Christian Pulisic and Bournemouth’s Tyler Adams, with Gio Reyna also making the team.
The captain will be Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, who had a short loan spell with Leeds United during his last time in the Premier League.
Adams is one of five current Premier League players chosen by Pochettino.
Newly-promoted Coventry striker Haji Wright is also on the squad and will aim to play an important role in the summer tournament.
Leeds midfielder Brendan Aaronson, Crystal Palace defender Chris Richards, and Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson are the other Premier League picks.
Richards missed the launch event as he is preparing for Crystal Palace’s Conference League final against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday in Istanbul. He’s working hard to recover from an injury and did join part of the training to help the team in manager Oliver Glasner’s last match.
The USA will play in Group D with Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey in the 2026 World Cup, having qualified automatically as co-hosts.
Here’s the full squad list:
**Goalkeepers:** Matt Turner (New England Revolution), Matt Freese (New York City), Chris Brady (Chicago Fire)
**Defenders:** Sergino Dest (PSV), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Auston Trusty (Celtic), Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Joe Scally (Borussia Monchengladbach), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC)
**Midfielders:** Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Brendan Aaronson (Leeds), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Alejandro Zendejas (Club America)
**Forwards:** Gio Reyna (Borussia Monchengladbach), Haji Wright (Coventry), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Tim Weah (Marseille)
When asked about reports that he emailed players to tell them if they made the team instead of calling them, Pochettino explained,
“When I was a player and didn’t make the team, I didn’t want the coach to call me. The players who don’t make the squad don’t want me apologizing either.
If I call, it’s more about me, and that’s not right.
That doesn’t mean we don’t care — we care a lot. We just don’t want to confuse the players.”