USMNT Announces Final Roster Before 2026 World Cup For Matches vs. Ronaldo's Portugal, Belgium

The United States Men's National Team is yet to finalize its roster for the 2026 World Cup, but it provided a telling preview of the names who will likely find themselves on the squad this summer on Tuesday.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino revealed the 27 players who will report to training camp in Atlanta on March 22 ahead of friendlies against Belgium and Portugal.

The Americans will face Belgium on March 28 before going against Cristiano Ronaldo and Portugal on March 31. Both games will take place at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta and air on TNT and HBO Max.

Here is a look at the roster:

Goalkeepers

• Chris Brady (Chicago Fire)
• Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati)
• Matt Freese (New York City FC)
• Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

Defenders

• Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew)
• Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP)
• Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA)
• Tim Ream (Charlotte FC)
• Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG)
• Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG)
• Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati)
• Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER)
• Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO)

Midfielders

• Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN)
• Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid/ESP)
• Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA)
• Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG)
• Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER)
• Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
• Tanner Tessman (Olympique Lyon/FRA)
• Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER)

Forwards

• Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG)
• Patrick Agyemang(Derby County/ENG)
• Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA)
• Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED)
• Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA)
• Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA)

Seeing how this is the last international window before the final roster is named, there likely won't be many changes ahead of the highly anticipated tournament.

"We have spent the last 18 months developing the player pool so we can be prepared to make the correct decisions for the World Cup roster, and this is another valuable opportunity," Pochettino said, per the press release. "We must treat these games like they are a part of the World Cup, and what is most important is that the players bring the right mentality and commitment to the group."

This roster also marks the return of a number of notable players after Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Chris Richards all missed the November international break.

However, Sergino Dest is not on the latest roster as he deals with a hamstring injury. Tyler Adams is also absent because of his own injury concerns.

Perhaps most notable is the inclusion of Gio Reyna after playing well in November. Yet he has been an "enigma" of late, as Kyle Bonn of Sporting News explained.

"Since returning to his club Borussia Monchengladbach, he has once again failed to build on a strong international performance and has not been handed a starting spot, even picking up a muscle injury that left him out of action throughout most of February. Since returning to fitness, he has been an unused substitute in three straight league games."

He will have an opportunity to bounce back, though, for the national team.

The matchups against two strong sides in Belgium and Portugal will serve as significant tests for the Americans ahead of the World Cup on home soil.

The United States will open its World Cup schedule on June 12 against Paraguay in Los Angeles before facing Australia in Seattle on June 19. It will then finish the group stage back in Los Angeles on June 25 against either Türkiye, Romania, Slovakia or Kosovo, depending on the result of the UEFA Playoff C.