'Jedi Knight' to 'The Scallywag': Meet the U.S. World Cup defenders

Alex Freeman: The Next Big Thing

Fort Lauderdale, Florida | Age: 21 | Team: Villarreal (Spain)

National team appearances: 15 | Known for: A breakthrough 2025

In 2024, right back Freeman finished his debut MLS season with zero headlines and just eight minutes of senior professional soccer under his belt. In 2025, he finished it with more than 2,500 minutes of league play, nine league goal involvements, 13 national team appearances, two national team goals, a big-money transfer to a European club on the horizon and the kind of media buzz that heralds the arrival of a new star. 

If Freeman’s name sounds familiar, it’s because he isn’t the only sports star in his immediate family. His father Antonio was a celebrated Super Bowl-winning wideout with the Green Bay Packers; the younger Freeman played football and baseball as a child before committing to soccer as a teen.

“Growing up, I always got asked if football was the path, but when I was younger, I always had a secret love for soccer, ” Freeman said.

Mark McKenzie: The French Bulldog

Bear, Delaware | Age: 27 | Team: Toulouse (France)

National team appearances: 27 | Known for: Personality and positioning

Center back McKenzie was one of the final players cut from the 2022 World Cup roster; if anyone deserves a shot at the big time, it’s him. 

“To miss it — barely — it adds another sense of fire,” McKenzie said. “All those experiences help build you and make you well-rounded."

McKenzie moved on from a comfortable spot at Genk in Belgium to a stretch role in the back line of France’s Toulouse; though it took him a while to get settled, he quickly became one of the team’s most reliable and tenacious players. 

Auston Trusty: The Serial Champion

Media, Pennsylvania | Age: 27 | Team: Celtic (Scotland)

National team appearances: 6 | Known for: Undermining Uruguay

Center back Trusty enters this World Cup as a two-time champion: his club Celtic FC has won back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles since his arrival in 2024. He’s also entering it as one of the few USMNT players set to play in the UEFA Champions League next season. Trusty might not be the biggest name in American soccer, but he has a habit of showing up on the world’s biggest stages.

The World Cup will be his biggest yet, but Trusty is ready for it.

“I’m entering my prime, playing the best football I’ve played in my life, and my mentality is strong,” he said. 

Miles Robinson: The Defensive DP

Arlington, Massachusetts | Age: 29 | Team: FC Cincinnati (MLS)

National team appearances: 39 | Known for: Bringing defense to the box office

Major League Soccer’s roster construction rules are numerous and complex. Clubs are forced to stay within strict salary guidelines for the majority of their players and can only break rank on a maximum of three. These individuals are known as designated players, and they are exempt from typical league salary restrictions.

MLS clubs tend to use their designated player slots on big-name attackers like Lionel Messi in Miami, It’s rare to see a club pay up for a defender instead, and even rarer still to see one pay up for a domestic defender developed in the U.S. Think of how good that player would have to be for a club to say, “Yes, forget about pursuing someone like Lionel Messi; we’re going to give the big bucks to this American defender instead.”

That’s Robinson. FC Cincinnati made him a designated player in 2025 and hasn’t looked back since. Robinson is the league’s most expensive defender for a reason: He’s reliable, comfortable in a back three or a back four and a true locker-room leader. He’s also one of the only USMNT players who featured against every one of its World Cup group stage opponents — Turkiye, Australia and Paraguay — in 2025.

Sergino Dest: The Artful Dodger

Almere, The Netherlands | Age: 25 | Team: PSV Eindhoven (Netherlands)

National team appearances: 37 | Known for: Inspired playmaking

Netherlands-born Dest is something of a rarity for an American soccer player. He's someone who believes wholeheartedly in the importance of tricks and skills.

Dest is creative, utterly idiosyncratic right back who defies categorization. Need someone to pull an opposition defender out of position to clear space in the middle of the park? Dest has you covered. Need someone to execute a blinding 80-yard dribble? Dest is ready. Need someone to pull off enough stepovers and nutmegs to drive a team crazy? Dest would be happy to assist.

When Dest is healthy, he’s one of the most important pieces of this USMNT— but health has been an issue for him during this World Cup cycle. He suffered a torn ACL in 2024, then suffered a hamstring injury that derailed his return and jeopardized his spot on the USMNT roster. Smart rehabilitation, a lot of effort and a healthy dose of good fortune got him back just in time to make the cut.

Joe Scally: The Scallywag

Lake Grove, New York | Age: 23 | Team: Borussia Monchengladbach (Germany)

National team appearances: 24 | Known for: Somehow, he returned

Fullback Scally was something of a surprise call-up at the 2022 World Cup; at just 19, he was one of the youngest players on the roster then. His inclusion on this roster raised eyebrows, too.

Scally is a versatile defender who can flip between a full back and center back, but he spent much of 2025 outside of Pochettino’s plans. A poor performance in the Nations League in March begat an eight-month absence from the national team. When he returned to the fold in November for friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay, there was a real sense of “now or never” for him.

Scally chose now. He put his head down and did the work that was required of him, and his humility and dedication earned him Pochettino’s trust — and a spot on his second straight World Cup roster.