For the past year, U.S. World Cup roster candidates have made their case at training camps and tournaments, in friendlies and knockout matches. But because the team assembles infrequently, weekly performances with clubs spread across Europe and North America will figure into coach Mauricio Pochettino’s decisions.
Which is why, with only the March camp remaining before he selects the 26-man roster for this summer’s soccer festival, he and his staff are keeping close tabs on players toiling in their full-time jobs.
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For many players, fluctuations will not impact their standing with Pochettino. Of course, it’s beneficial to enjoy an upswing in form and production before a U.S. camp. Conversely, substandard performances, lack of playing time or an injury could have adverse effects.
With that in mind, here are five players on the rise and five facing adversity a month before Pochettino sends out invitations to the March 23-31 camp for friendlies against Belgium and Portugal in Atlanta.
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Patrick Agyemang’s leap of faith is paying off. The 6-foot-4 striker left behind his ascending Major League Soccer career last summer for his first contract overseas, with Derby County in the second-flight English Championship.
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Had he failed to earn consistent playing time and record goals, the Connecticut native would’ve fallen off the U.S. radar. Instead, he is soaring.
Saturday’s second-half header against Swansea City raised his goal total to 10, tying him for the club lead. Mixing in his three assists, Agyemang leads the Rams in overall production and has helped lift them into contention for the promotion playoffs.
Agyemang, 25, was invited to U.S. camp in October but not in September and November. However, fellow Americans seemingly higher on the depth chart are in a rut overseas — more on them later — and Ricardo Pepi remains sidelined with a fractured forearm. Those factors, combined with Agyemang’s productivity, should bolster the former Charlotte FC standout’s chances for a March call-up.
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Weston McKennie’s place on the national team is ironclad, but as a driving force at Juventus under a new coach this winter and playing any number of positions while contributing mightily to the Serie A and Champions League campaigns, the U.S. veteran is enjoying perhaps the best soccer of his life.
McKennie was at it again Saturday, registering two assists in a 3-2 loss at first-place Inter Milan. He has made 26 consecutive starts across all competitions and posted four goals and four assists in Italy, plus three goals in the Champions League, which will continue Tuesday with a first-leg playoff match against Galatasaray.
Offering quality in several jobs, McKennie has lined up recently as a central attacking midfielder. Juventus coach Luciano Spalletti has gone as far as saying the American is the “perfect central striker.”
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McKennie’s resurgence comes as his contract nears its expiration this summer, prompting talk of a big pay raise to stay at Juventus or a free transfer to another major league.
Tanner Tessmann is on the rise because he is a regular starter for one of the hottest clubs in the world, Olympique Lyonnais, which on Sunday extended its winning streak to 13 across all competitions with a 2-0 victory over Nice.
In his second season in France, the 24-year-old midfielder has played in 20-of-22 Ligue 1 matches, starting 17. Lyon has ascended to third place, which would earn a Champions League berth next season, and pulled within six points of Paris Saint-Germain and seven of Lens with 12 matches left. In the Europa League, Lyon was the best team in the first stage and earned a bye to next month’s round of 16.
With the national team, Tessmann has made a strong case for starting in the two-man defensive midfield set-up that Pochettino has often deployed.
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Speaking of defensive midfield, World Cup incumbent Tyler Adams makes this list, not because of performance but simply because he is healthy again. Expected to miss two to three months with a knee injury, Adams returned to Bournemouth’s match-day roster in less than two months.
He has not played since Dec. 15 but was available last Tuesday at Everton and, after the club’s weekend off, might see action Saturday at West Ham. Barring a setback, Adams is on track for a U.S. call-up next month.
With some uncertainty in the U.S. center-back corps, Auston Trusty is making the most of his opportunity at Scottish club Celtic.
Helping fill the void left by countryman Cameron Carter-Vickers’ Achilles’ tendon injury in October, the 27-year-old Trusty has gone the distance in 23 of his past 24 consecutive appearances across all competitions. (A red card prevented him from finishing that one match.) He also scored in back-to-back Europa League matches last month.
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Chris Richards and Tim Ream are certain of making the World Cup squad, but Trusty is in the mix with Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, Noahkai Banks, among others, for one of at least two additional spots.
Monaco’s Folarin Balogun continues to struggle, but is still one of the USMNT’s best options at center forward.
(BSR Agency via Getty Images)
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Strikers are streaky, and right now, Folarin Balogun is on a bad streak. Pochettino’s No. 1 center forward has gone scoreless in 11-of-12 matches at Monaco, the only goal coming against a third-division opponent in the French Cup five weeks ago.
Unless the rut continues into spring, Pochettino surely will maintain his faith in Balogun, who scored in three U.S. friendlies last fall and three consecutive Champions League matches in November-December.
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Scoring issues have also stung Haji Wright, who tallied twice against Australia in October, then fired blanks for 15 consecutive matches with Coventry City in the English Championship.
He ended the skid in consecutive matches last month but is in a three-game rut entering Monday’s showdown with Middlesbrough. With 10 goals, Wright shares the Coventry lead with two others.
Regarded as No. 2 behind Balogun on the depth chart, he might have slipped behind Agyemang and could face a challenge from Pepi, who is expected back at PSV Eindhoven soon.
Remember how giddy everyone was about Gio Reyna’s performances in his U.S. return during the November international window? It was for good reason. He displayed qualities long shrouded by injuries and off-field issues, and seemed on course to not only make the World Cup team, but perhaps start.
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The enigmatic midfielder did carry those two efforts into increased playing time at Mönchengladbach. After the Bundesliga’s winter break, however, he found himself back on the bench, and a muscle injury has kept him in street clothes the past four matches.
Reyna, 23, seems just too good to leave off the World Cup team, but unless things get better in Germany soon, Pochettino will weigh whether to invite him to March training camp.
At 19, Yunus Musah was a key figure at the 2022 World Cup and on course to start in midfield for years to come. Upon Pochettino’s arrival in 2024, though, Musah didn’t seem to fit into the system. And now, amid a stalled first season at Atalanta after three at AC Milan, Musah’s World Cup outlook is fading fast.
He didn’t play in a 2-0 victory at Lazio, the fifth time in seven games he’s remained on the bench. He has made just three starts in Serie A and two in the Champions League. It’s been almost a year since his last national team call-up.
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Having gone six years since his last U.S. goal and missing out on the October and November camps, Josh Sargent was already a long shot for the World Cup.
Had he kept scoring at Norwich City in England’s second division this winter, he could have clung to hope. But he’s not only not scoring, he’s not even in uniform. Demanding a transfer to MLS, the St. Louis native was sent to train with the under-21 squad and hasn’t been named to the first-team squad since Jan. 4.
Barring a move before MLS’ March 26 transfer deadline — and an extraordinary scoring run — Sargent will need to turn attention to 2030.
