'Young statesman' to 'American outlaw': Meet the U.S. World Cup midfielders

Cristian Roldan: The Perfect Player

Cerritos, California | Age: 30 | Team: Seattle Sounders (MLS)

National team appearances: 45 | Known for: Making everyone a little bit better

Roldan is a polarizing figure for USMNT fans. If they like MLS, they tend to like Roldan and appreciate his style; if they think MLS is a lesser league, they tend to question his presence on the national team.

No one is less polarizing than Roldan when it comes to actual soccer professionals, though. He’s universally beloved for his versatility, physicality, team spirit and full-on commitment.

“Cristian Roldan is an example of how if you want to build your perfect player; he has a little bit of everything,” Pochettino said after Roldan’s lights-out performance against Australia last fall (h/t The Athletic).

Roldan’s Seattle coach Brian Schmetzer shared the sentiment, saying, "For lack of a better term, he’s a coach’s dream.”

Roldan pushes his teammates in practice even if he knows he’s not going to play in the game itself. His attitude never wavers, no matter how he’s performing or where he stands on the roster. 

Sebastian Berhalter: The Set-Piece Sniper

Columbus, Ohio | Age: 25 | Team: Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS)

National team appearances: 11 | Known for: Lethal free kicks

Berhalter is the son of former national team coach (and player) Gregg Berhalter. This will be his first World Cup as a player.

Berhalter broke through in 2025 as a key part of the MLS Cup Final-bound Vancouver Whitecaps, and his efforts with the team earned him a spot in MLS’s Best XI at the end of the season. He’s a jack of all trades — breaking up plays, making metronomic midfield passing, creating big chances — but his lethal dead-ball accuracy is his calling card. 

Corner or free kick, if Berhalter’s on it, it’s going to be a problem for an opponent. 

Weston McKennie: The American Outlaw

Little Elm, Texas | Age: 27 | Team: Juventus (Italy)

National team appearances: 64 | Known for: Marching to the beat of his own drum

The watchword with McKennie is freedom. 

“I’m the type of player that likes to get forward and have the freedom to move around,” McKennie said last fall after the USMNT’s 1-1 draw with Ecuador (h/t The Athletic). 

“What I want to provide him is the freedom. He’s a player that needs freedom,” Pochettino said minutes later. 

McKennie has played in just about every position available — from central midfield to right wingback to striker — for the USMNT and his club team, Juventus.

Having a player as flexible as McKennie is a blessing and a curse. He can be slotted anywhere you need him, but it’s difficult to guess where, and how, he’ll make the biggest splash. With the USMNT’s World Cup midfield as thin as it is, we can reasonably assume McKennie will play a central role to beef it up.

McKennie’s need to be free extends beyond the field. He’s a controversial figure in his adopted hometown of Turin, Italy, and once caused a small international incident by claiming Italian food had no variety.