Club América winger Alejandro Zendejas is on the United States’ 26-man roster for this summer’s World Cup, but Lyon defensive midfielder Tanner Tessmann is not included. The selection, the most notable new piece of information to emerge from Mauricio Pochettino’s entire World Cup squad, has been obtained by the Guardian and is authentic, according to multiple sources familiar with Pochettino’s selection.
The roster confirms the selection of Zendayas and the exclusion of Tessmann, as well as the exclusion of Borussia Mönchengladbach’s Gio Reyna and Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna, both attacking midfielders, options first reported by The Athletic. U.S. Soccer declined to comment on the roster, which will be formally announced Tuesday at a nationally televised event in New York City.
Reina and Berhalter in action
Reyna is included in the squad despite playing just 520 minutes for Mönchengladbach this season, appearing in the club’s last five league games. Manager Pochettino has praised the 23-year-old many times and has named him as a player he would like to use regardless of club form.
During the 2022 World Cup, Reyna found himself at the center of one of the most dramatic and strange moments in the history of the men’s national team, as he was almost ejected from the tournament for conduct issues. Shortly thereafter, Reyna’s parents became embroiled in a long, public feud with U.S. coach Gregg Berhalter. This situation cast a shadow over Reina for the next few years.
Sebastian Berhalter, the son of the former USMNT coach, is also on the roster. Berhalter, 25, has never represented the United States at international youth level, but he was forced into Pochettino’s plans on the back of his huge improvement since joining the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2022. Berhalter was the Whitecaps’ chief orchestrator last year, leading them to the MLS Best Eleven en route to the club’s first MLS Cup berth and first appearance in the Concaf Champions Cup finals. Coach Berhalter also gives this team a dead-ball specialist who can consistently take corner kicks in dangerous areas.
Luna and Tesman absent
Despite being a key contributor throughout the USMNT’s build-up to the World Cup, Luna was not listed on the roster. He was frequently praised by Pochettino for his aggressiveness on both sides of the ball and emerged as a breakout star in 2025, scoring four goals in 17 appearances. Despite missing training camp in March as he returned from injury, Luna has returned to form with four goals and two assists in seven MLS games (six starts) since April 1.
The 22-year-old was also widely featured in promotional activities ahead of the tournament, including a splashy advertisement by tournament rights holders Fox. A federation spokesperson said earlier this week that Pochettino had no connection to the players chosen to appear in the ads, some of which were produced months ago.
Luna suffers from knee and muscle problems until 2026, but was still expected to be in Pochettino’s plans. Not surprisingly, Luna’s RSL teammate Xavier Gozo was absent. Gozo has yet to feature in the USMNT’s senior squad, but he was included in last year’s Under-20 World Cup squad and has since featured prominently in the RSL, leading to speculation that he could be included.
Zendejas, 28, is one of the most dangerous forwards in Liga MX and led Club America’s attack with 12 goals and seven assists in 2,443 minutes. Despite his form, Pochettino has given Zendejas just 139 minutes in six appearances, with his last substitution coming against Japan on September 9.
Tessmann, 24, suffered a muscle strain in Lyon two weeks ago but was still expected to be included in the squad. It was not immediately clear whether Tessman’s exclusion was injury-related. The FC Dallas academy product has appeared in 29 league games for Lyon this season, starting 22 of them.
Middlesbrough midfielder Aidan Morris was also left out. The 24-year-old has always been with the club and featured heavily in the USMNT’s friendlies against Portugal and Belgium in March. Morris and Tessman appear more likely to play after Johnny Cardoso suffered a serious ankle injury earlier this month.
Additional notes
As it stands, Pochettino’s side only have four central or defensive midfielders, with Weston McKennie joining Berhalter, Cristian Roldan and Tyler Adams. McKennie appeared likely to play further upfield after being deployed in attacking midfield for the season in March.
The defensive corps gained additional personnel, with 10 defenders selected and time available for four or five starters. Center back Chris Richards has been added to Crystal Palace’s squad after the manager announced he would miss this weekend’s final league game due to torn ankle ligaments. Not among the central defenders is Noakai Banks, a dual citizen whose international status is up in the air and who declined a call-up to the United States in March due to interest from Germany.
Chicago Fire goaltender Chris Brady joins Matt Freese and Matt Turner on the roster. Brady, 22, is one of the most in-form keepers in MLS and has been called up to national team camps multiple times, but has never won a cap. Brady is projected to be No. 3 behind Freeze and Turner.
A total of 13 members of Pochettino’s squad are in their second World Cup squad, with the remaining half made up of first-time players.
The USMNT will play their final two games before the World Cup against Senegal on May 31st and Germany on June 6th. Managers must submit their rosters to FIFA by June 1 and can only change their squads in “exceptional cases” by officially naming a 26-man roster, loosely defined circumstances that require approval from FIFA’s medical committee.
USMNT 2026 World Cup Roster
(First-time World Cup selections are indicated by an asterisk, caps and goals are listed in parentheses)
Goalkeeper (3): Chris Brady* (Chicago Fire, 0 caps/0 goals), Matt Freeze* (New York City, 14/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53/0)
Defender (10): Max Alfsten* (Columbus Crew, 18/1), Serginho Dest (PSV, 37/2), Alex Freeman* (Villarreal, 15/2), Mark McKenzie* (Toulouse, 27/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, 80/1), Chris Richards* (Crystal Palace, 36/3), Anthony Robinson (Fulham, 52/4), Miles Robinson* (FC Cincinnati, 38/3), Joe Scully (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 24/0), Auston Trustee* (Celtic, 6/0)
Midfielder (4): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth, 52/2), Sebastian Berhalter* (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus, 64/12), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45/0)
Attacking midfielder/winger (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, 57/9), Christian Pulisic (Milan, 84/32), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach, 36/9), Malik Tillman* (Bayer Leverkusen, 28/3), Tim Weah (Marseille, 49/7), Alejandro Zendejas* (Club America, 13/2)
Strikers (3): Folarin Balogun* (AS Monaco, 25/8), Ricardo Pepi* (PSV, 35/13), Hadji Wright (Coventry City, 20/7)
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