Mix of big names and young standouts highlight final USMNT roster of 2026

The big names are back...

AC Milan's Christian Pulisic, Juventus's Weston McKennie and Monaco's Folarin Balogun missed the USMNT's fall friendlies for a variety of reasons, but they're all present and accounted for on this competitive Nations League roster.

For Pulisic and McKennie, this camp will be an opportunity to see how they combine with the USMNT's newfound teenage attackers like Cavan Sullivan and Mathis Albert. 

For Balogun, it's an opportunity to reintroduce himself after a controversial 2026. 

Between his Trump-accented red card reversal at the World Cup and the last-minute collapse of his transfer to Everton, Balogun has been at the center of far too much drama this year—especially considering none of it was of his own creation. He's a goal-scorer, not a media headline; this camp will give him the opportunity to prove it.

...but many teenagers are, too

The USMNT achieved four wins in four games in its last window thanks to contributions from its newly-identified teenage prospects. Six of those prospects—defender Neil Pierre (19), midfielder Adri Mehmeti (17), wingers Mathis Albert (17) and Cavan Sullivan (17) and forwards Julian Hall (18) and Justin Ellis (19)—have returned to the USMNT fold.

It's no surprise to see five of those six; Pierre, Mehmeti, Sullivan, Hall and Ellis have been regular starters for their Major League Soccer clubs since their USMNT debuts. It's a little surprising to see Borussia Dortmund's Albert, though, if only because he hasn't seen many minutes for his club this season: he's logged just 20 in the Bundesliga thus far. Pochettino doesn't seem to mind. 

"For me, Mathis is one of the most talented players in the USA," he said in a news conference. "The combination with the players we have in front of him, he can perform."

Pochettino is narrowing in on his next goalkeeper

The USMNT tested out four goalkeepers—NYCFC's Matt Turner, Chicago's Chris Brady, Lyngby's Diego Kochen and Nashville's Brian Schwake—during its fall friendlies. Kochen and Schwake emerged as the most promising keepers of the lot, and this roster reflects that: they're back in the team after impressing in their competitive debuts.

Freese is back too, but his difficult season in MLS (and his blunder against Belgium in the USMNT's World Cup elimination game) make him unlikely to reclaim the starting goalkeeper spot. This should be a battle between Barcelona-trained Kochen and MLS points champion Schwake: it'll be fascinating to see which one emerges as Pochettino's next starter.

The team still lacks a traditional number 10

Spare a thought for Malik Tillman. The Leverkusen attacker thrived at the World Cup in a sunken midfield role alongside Weston McKennie, but the USMNT and Leverkusen have insisted on playing him as a more advanced number 10 ever since.

Tillman is a graceful and intelligent player, but he rarely lives up to his sky-high potential while playing in the 10 slot—he's really only there because neither the USMNT nor Leverkusen has a better option on deck. 

This Nations League camp was the USMNT's chance to source a better option (like, for instance, San Jose's Niko Tsakiris, who has yet to make his USMNT debut after impressing for the U-20 side last year) but Pochettino stuck with Tillman instead. 

Another USMNT window, another cycle of watching the wildly talented Tillman get forced out of position. There has to be a better option here.

The USMNT will take on Haiti on Saturday, Nov. 14 in Miami and Tuesday, Nov. 17 in Cincinnati. The aggregate result of those fixtures will determine which side advances to the Nations League semifinals in March of 2027.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.