Coach Mauricio Pochettino named a 28-man roster for home friendlies against Peru (Sept. 26), Chile (Sept. 29), Mexico (Oct. 3) and Canada (Oct. 6). The roster includes 13 members of the USA’s 2026 World Cup, with notable absentees: Christian Pulisic, who has recently returned from injury to club action; Weston McKennie, who returned to play with Juventus on Thursday; Folarin Balogun, who has yet to see club action this season.
🔢 BY THE NUMBERS
8 of the 13 uncapped call-ups are teenagers.
17 is how old Cavan Sullivan, the roster’s youngest player, will turn on Sept. 28
22.75 is the average of the roster.
29 is the age of the squad’s oldest players: Antonee Robinson & Miles Robinson.
58 caps each make Tyler Adams & Antonee Robinson most experienced players.
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13 players return from the USA’s 2026 World Cup squad.
5 played the 2002 World Cup: Tyler Adams, Sergiño Dest, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson.
1 started at the 2002 World Cup but didn’t make the 2026 World Cup: Yunus Musah.
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5 scored at the 2026 World Cup: Sebastian Berhalter, Alex Freeman, Gio Reyna, Malik Tillman, Auston Trusty.
1 player who scored at the World Cup not called in: Folarin Balogun
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3 players make Philadelphia Union best represented club
12 players hail from eight MLS clubs.
16 are based with European clubs.
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USMNT Roster
| Player (club) | Caps/goals | Age |
|---|---|---|
| GOALKEEPERS (4) | ||
| *Chris Brady (Chicago Fire) | 1/0 | 22 |
| *Matt Freese (New York City FC) | 19/0 | 28 |
| Diego Kochen (Lyngby/DEN) | 0/0 | 20 |
| Brian Schwake (Nashville SC) | 0/0 | 25 |
| DEFENDERS (10) | ||
| George Campbell (West Brom/ENG) | 1/0 | 25 |
| *Sergiño Dest (PSV/NED) | 44/3 | 25 |
| *Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP) | 22/3 | 22 |
| Peyton Miller (New England) | 0/0 | 18 |
| Neil Pierre (Philadelphia Union) | 0/0 | 18 |
| *Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG) | 40/3 | 26 |
| *Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG) | 58/5 | 29 |
| *Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati) | 41/3 | 29 |
| *Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO) | 10/1 | 28 |
| Frankie Westfield (Philadelphia Union) | 0/0 | 20 |
| MIDFIELDERS (9) | ||
| *Tyler Adams (Bournemouth/ENG) | 58/2 | 27 |
| Mathis Albert (Borussia Dortmund/GER) | 0/0 | 17 |
| *Sebastian Berhalter (Middlesbrough/ENG) | 18/2 | 25 |
| Zavier Gozo (Crystal Palace/ENG) | 0/0 | 19 |
| Adri Mehmeti (Red Bull New York) | 0/0 | 17 |
| Yunus Musah (AC Milan/ITA) | 47/1 | 23 |
| Brooklyn Raines (New England Revolution) | 0/0 | 21 |
| *Gio Reyna (Strasbourg/FRA) | 43/10 | 23 |
| *Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER) | 35/5 | 24 |
| FORWARDS (5) | ||
| Cole Campbell (Elversberg/GER) | 0/0 | 20 |
| Justin Ellis (Orlando City) | 0/0 | 19 |
| Julian Hall (Red Bull New York) | 0/0 | 18 |
| *Ricardo Pepi (PSV/NED) | 42/13 | 23 |
| Cavan Sullivan (Philadelphia Union) | 0/0 | 16 |
| * Member of 2026 World Cup squad | ||
I respect the heck out of him for leaving all of our strikers at home, except Pepi. Bologun is the first real striker we have had since McBride and no need to get him hurt. The rest of the striker pool, including Pepi, have done ZERO against true competition. He has all the info he needs on them. Let’s toss a couple of the youngsters into the pool and see if they can swim.
Millertime, agree with you on Pepi. Wish he would have left Freese off this roster. Have seen enough of him to know what he is. Glad Musah has been brought back in. This is the time to look at new faces. Believe he knows what he has with the veterans.
Kevin, 100 on Freese. If I were the manager, if I ever called Freese back in, it would be way down the line. To me, a keeper is like a best friend or your wife (assuming one has a happy marriage). You just know. Friedel, Keller, Timmy, even Guzan to a degree. No need to stop looking. You found it. No need to keep looking. And also like QB’s. If you have two, you don’t have any. Let’s hope we find one.
Just like we are so swift to elevate our young men to ‘golden’ like with this whole generation and Pulisic, we are just as quick to devalue them. Here we have Pepi, 23, now 2x Champion of Eredivisie with PSV, do you know where Luis Suarez was when he was 23? Ajax. OK, this is apples to oranges, I know. It’s really not fair to Pepi, b.c. he developed in USA, which gives typically a 1 – 2 year development catch-up window in Europe, but then instead of smartly like Suarez going to team like Groningen in Holland where he would play and develop, he goes to Bundasliga and looses another year or 2. So he has a further deficit. Pepi will peak at 25-26. Same for Freese. It is commonly accepted that GKs mature at 27, he is 28, but, playing in MLS. MLS can develop GKs, but to a point, there is a ceiling. Two things, the strikers are not world class, ok Messi, Suarez are here, but they are not what they were at 27-32, and, further, the defenders here, this is the main thing, the defenders that the GK plays with they may be young but they are further from world class as MLS pay structure is more top heavy, and everyone knows this, so they pay less than Europe but fractionally less for defenders, so the best defenders won’t come here. Name one that is here, OK, we get a GK from France in LA, but it’s LA. Name one big defender that is here for retirement or being paid a fortune. Good pay for defender here is $250K / season. So he is not working with the best. The pace of the game for GK is in moments, but in the moments when the world class striker and your defenders are working in front of you – the SPEED of the game is like nothing in MLS – nothing. This is why Freese is coming in – Poch is priming him to go to Europe. Our keepers MUST go to EUROPE and grind it out – playing – not sitting – they must MOVE UP FROM MLS. Pepi and Freese can grow. We need them to grow they can be BIG PART of our next world cup, but they strive for the next level and make it there. It is like this. Do not be so quick to dump our boys. Be patient. Coming from USA, evey player will have a deficit. This is a fact. Give them time. Poch and his staff will help them. Congrats to the first timers and all that got the call. Make it happen boys!
Humble, I know you are an optimist by nature and that is fine. The fact of the matter is what, I see on a consistent basis and neither Freese or Pepi have continued to show that they aren’t at the level of international play. All of Pepi’s minutes in the WC, he was manhandled and continues be completely unnatural when forced on to his left foot. Every match I have seen Freese play, he has had at least one mental gaff. Keepers don’t need to be spectacular but, they can’t make the mental mistakes that continually put their team in jeopardy game in game out. It’s definitely time to look at others!
I was thinking the same thing. Look at the ages of the forwards! The oldest is 23 and male bodies typically are not fully mature until 26. These are all “youth” in soccer.
Guys, all I say is and that just like we are quick to sanctify, we are quick to condemn, and that by the numbers, and considering their origon, they still have runway. Maybe I am an optimist, but in football, that is a necisity when developing players, because the players to suceed must be allowed to fail, and we need to be able to see beyond that. That is all.
I’m excited to see the youngsters get capped! Getting the experience early in their careers and early in the WC cycle is key for their development, especially those playing in the MLS.