Grades for the USMNT Through the Group Stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup
The U.S. men's national team is officially through to the knockout rounds of the 2026 World Cup.
After a dominant win over Paraguay, a controlled victory over Australia, and a 3-2 loss with Turkiye, the USMNT can look ahead to their Round of 32 clash with Bosnia and Herzegovina on July 1st at Levi's Stadium.
Thursday's game at SoFi Stadium was, of course, a formality. Turkiye were already eliminated from knockout round contention before the match began, while the United States had already locked up the top spot in Group D. Still, now that the group stage has wrapped up for the U.S., it's the perfect time to take stock of the team.
Let's grade each position group – and the coaching – ahead of the knockouts.
Goalkeepers
1 of 5
There was plenty of consternation about the United States' goalkeeping position coming into the World Cup. Should it be Matt Freese, the new man on the block who had become the most frequent starter under Mauricio Pochettino? Or should it be Matt Turner, who started at the last World Cup and was still getting games between the posts as recently as the team's send-off friendly against Senegal?
Freese, it turns out, was the choice. And really, he hasn't had all that much to do so far.
While Paraguay scored on their only shot on target against the New York City FC man, it wasn't a savable shot. Against Australia, Freese made two simple stops on the only two shots on target fired off by the Socceroos. Now, the knock against Freese that could grow more noticeable as the World Cup continues is his lack of comfort on the ball. His shaky distribution early in the Australia match ceded momentum to the visitors. Against a better team, it could give away something more.
Against Turkiye, Turner got a start in goal in a nearly fully rotated U.S. team. He was shaky coming off his line and will almost certainly be back to the bench for the knockouts.
Really, there's not much to nitpick about the U.S. goalkeeping so far.
Grade: B
Defenders
2 of 5
It's been far more good than bad for the USMNT along the backline.
Starting right back Alex Freeman's delayed-gratification goal given after video review against Australia was one of the moments of the tournament for the United States, eliciting a fantastic crowd pop:
Freeman's athleticism has been on full display, too, with the U.S.'s youngest rostered player putting in work on dead balls and in defensive transition.
Elsewhere, that Chris Richards has been healthy and a steady force on both sides of the ball has been crucial. Questions swirled about his availability before the tournament following his late-season ankle injury with Crystal Palace. But so far? Richards seems to be managing the pain flawlessly. Next to Richards, Tim Ream's ball progression has been as valuable as expected. Antonee Robinson, the go-to starter on the left, has brought crucial passing range, ball-carrying, and positional fluidity, especially when playing alongside Christian Pulisic. He's been a major asset.
There have been some scary moments for the defense, too, however. Ream's lack of speed was exposed in the second half against Australia, when Watford winger Nestory Irankunda blitzed behind him on a dangerous attacking sequence. Freeman's unforced giveaways in possession at this tournament have been an issue, too.
When given a chance to start against Turkiye, the U.S.'s lack of quality depth in the back shone through. While Auston Trusty grabbed an early goal, he was a mixed bag on the ball from left back. Joe Scally was quiet on the right, while Mark McKenzie and Miles Robinson both looked frail through the middle. Ideally for the USMNT, none of those four players will see much of the field in the Round of 32 and beyond.
Grade: B
Midfielders
3 of 5
At the 2022 World Cup, the backbone of Gregg Berhalter's U.S. team was the Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Yunus Musah central midfield trio. With Musah's struggles since that tournament and Pochettino's decision to leave him at home, would the United States be able to replicate a similar level of dynamism in the middle of the field?
As it turns out, the answer to that question has been a resounding "yes" thus far.
Adams has been a ball-magnet at the base of midfield, winning tackle after tackle and providing immense effort in the counter press.
McKennie, for his part, helped lock down a spot for the U.S. in the knockout rounds with his roaming movement – not to mention his on-ball skill. He rotated seamlessly with Freeman and Sergiño Dest, picking the perfect moments to race in behind to unbalance opposing backlines.
Malik Tillman, though, is the biggest pleasant surprise of the bunch. Though he's spent most of his career for club and country as a No. 10, Pochettino elected to move Tillman deeper in the team's final World Cup tuneup against Germany. The Bayer Leverkusen man thrived in that match against the country of his birth and hasn't looked back. He was dominant on both sides of the ball as a No. 8 against Paraguay and has been a standout ever since.
As for the rotation options in midfield, Sebastian Berhalter has been inconsistent as a distributor, though he nabbed a goal and an assist against Turkiye. Still, the lack of plug-and-play quality off the bench doesn't overshadow just how impressive the starting group has been.
Grade: A
Attackers
4 of 5
If you'd told me before the World Cup that the U.S. would clinch a spot in the Round of 32 after two games, but that Christian Pulisic would play just one of the four halves along the way, I probably wouldn't have believed you. And yet? That's exactly what happened for the USMNT during the group stage.
That the team managed to find scoring threat without Pulisic on the field for key moments is a huge positive. The AC Milan winger, who missed time with a calf injury, was fantastic in his 45 minutes against Paraguay, splitting double teams and causing major problems for the right side of the opposing defense. Still, the U.S. managed crucial moments without him, in no small part due to Sergiño Dest's smooth play on the right wing.
Dest, who has been moved from fullback to winger by Mauricio Pochettino, has been a ball progression and dribbling machine on the right. His understanding with Weston McKennie has been, perhaps, the biggest creative spark in the United States' attacking setup. Defenders can't afford to turn off when Dest is around, and he's been at the center of many strong attacking sequences for his team.
Folarin Balogun, though, might just be the star of the summer so far for the USMNT. The AS Monaco striker is reportedly drawing interest from Premier League teams, with his Ligue 1 outfit looking for a transfer fee around €50m in exchange for Balogun's services. When you look at the 24-year-old's play at the World Cup, it's no surprise that his name has been popping up on the radars of huge clubs. His brace against Paraguay set the U.S. off on the right foot in Los Angeles and his clever play to force an own goal against Australia did the same in Seattle.
In terms of depth options, Gio Reyna's trivela goal against Paraguay is still one of the best finishes of the World Cup so far.
The rest of the attackers – Ricardo Pepi, Tim Weah, Brenden Aaronson, Alex Zendejas, and Haji Wright – are yet to make big impacts either off the bench or in spot starts. Still, the attack has been fit and firing.
Grade: A
Coaching
5 of 5
Mauricio Pochettino has hardly put a foot wrong on the sidelines at the World Cup so far. Let's run through his big choices, shall we?
His choice to start Matt Freese in goal hasn't backfired. In the midfield, Pochettino opted to bring few traditional options with him to the World Cup. While that caused plenty of concern out of the gates, any and all criticism of, say, leaving Tanner Tessmann and Aidan Morris out of the squad has evaporated thanks to Malik Tillman's top-tier play in that part of the field. Further forward, Pochettino's decision to use Sergiño Dest as a winger has been crucial to squeeze attacking threat out of a position group that lacks talent for the national team.
While you can quibble with some of Pochettino's substitution patterns, it's impossible to see the vast majority of his personnel choices as anything other than clear successes.
On top of his clever player picks, the U.S. pulled off their ball-dominant attacking style to great effect in the group stage. Plus, Pochettino avoided any potential pitfalls against Turkiye by not allowing any of the players at risk of a yellow card accumulation suspension to see the field.
Ahead of the knockout rounds, it's been smooth sailing for Pochettino.
Grade: A
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