UNITED STATES MEN’S NATIONAL team head coach Mauricio Pochettino named his roster for the coming March camp, which will be the team’s final gathering before the World Cup roster is named. The U.S. team will be based in Atlanta where it will host both Belgium on March 28 followed by Portugal on March 31.

The roster consists of 27 players, but with four goalkeepers. As with any roster, there is a lot to break down in terms of who is in, who is out, and how it will affect how the team plays.

There are some injury notes.

Tyler Adams was a concern after he missed Bournemouth’s game over the weekend and Pochettino indicated it was his quad and that it would keep him out for two-three weeks.

Sergino Dest injured his hamstring earlier in March and says his goal is to be back by the end of the season for PSV.

Haji Wright was subbed out of Coventry’s 2-1 loss to Southampton in the 60^th minute with a groin injury, per head coach Frank Lampard.

Diego Luna missed preseason for Real Salt Lake and while he returned as a substitute over the weekend, he is still not back to full fitness.

James Sands was last called up by Pochettino in October but injured his ankle earlier this month and was forced to have surgery. His season is over and he surely is no longer in contention for the World Cup team.

With that said, here is the roster along with some thoughts about it.

USMNT ROSTER FOR MARCH

(Club/Country; Caps/Goals) 

GOALKEEPERS (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire; 0/0), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati; 0/0), Matt Freese (New York City FC; 13/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution; 52/0)  

DEFENDERS (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew; 16/1), Alex Freeman (Villareal/ESP; 13/2), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA; 25/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC; 79/1), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG; 35/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham/ENG;50/4), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati; 38/3), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 22/0), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO; 5/0) 

 MIDFIELDERS (8): Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN; 9/1), Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid/ESP; 22/0), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA; 62/11), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG; 13/0), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER; 34/9), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders; 43/0), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA; 12/1); Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER; 26/3) 

FORWARDS (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG; 56/9); Patrick Agyemang (Derby County/ENG; 12/5), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA; 23/8), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED; 34/13), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA; 82/32), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA; 47/7) 

 

Key thoughts

 

The roster contains most of the familiar names from the three camps in the fall. That was was to be expected as the team slowly began to improve its performances from what had been a difficult year dating back to the 2024 Copa America.

Of course, much of the team’s success will hinge around the team’s best players.

Christian Pulisic has been the team’s best player for most of the past decade but right now he is in a cold spell for AC Milan. He has not scored or assisted since the start of 2026. Regardless of club form, Pulisic has always been a big game player for the USMNT and history would not indicate that his struggles at Milan would carry over to the U.S. team, but it is something to watch.

The right back position will be interesting with Dest’s injury. Alex Freeman played a lot for Pochettino at the position in 2025 but Freeman just moved to Villarreal and is playing only limited minutes. Joe Scally is a long time veteran of the team but he has not always been in Pochettino’s plans and his season for Borussia Monchengladbach has been very mixed. Neither option is great heading into this camp and it would not be surprising to see Tim Weah get another chance at right back as opposed to right wing (where he primarily plays for the USMNT).

Antonee Robinson returns to the team after spending most of 2025 dealing with an injury to his right knee. He returned to the field in December for Fulham and played every game into January when his playing time then became inconsistent (he played well last weekend). It will be interesting to see how the USMNT staff evaluates his condition and where he stands physically with the World Cup approaching.

Folarin Balogun enters this camp red hot for Monaco. This camp will be huge for Balogun to continue developing the chemistry he has with the team’s midfield. He’s not the greatest striker in the air, but he thrives getting behind opposing backlines and making great runs. But that requires being on the same page as his teammates and this camp is crucial to build that understanding.

Pochettino also spoke at length on versatility in how he appreciates players who can play different positions. He specifically mentioned Weston McKennie and Tanner Tessmann.

Heading into this camp, with many players missing, these players give Pochettino options. For Tessmann, specifically, it was about his brain.

“Tanner Tessmann is a very good player because he has one thing that is very important, brain,” Pochettino explained. “He understands soccer, he understands in every single position the way that he needs to perform and to behave and it's not new for me. I think he has the profile to play in different positions on the pitch. He's another very good player and he's playing a lot in Lyon and he is doing well. I was talking about Weston, he's another player that I, the coaches, we really appreciate that profile of players.”

As for McKennie, Pochettino was full of praise and it should not be surprising to see him in a more attacking position. 

“It's true that Juventus is Weston McKinnie plus 10 [laughs]” Pochettino said. “We're so happy for that because that means that he's an important player for Juventus. Another thing that I celebrate is that he can play in every single place. Like his coach said, he can be the best striker, the best number 10, the number 7, the numbers 2, 4, can play fullback, can be a midfielder. He's playing in a different position. And of course, it's good for him, it is good for us. It's good to have a player that can play in a different position and to give the balance, sometimes the team has different position that you need.”

There is a very good chance that Tessmann and McKennie are given a lot of time in different roles to allow Pochettino expand the different approaches he can take with this team.

 

Formation options

 

In 2025, Pochettino began using a three-man backline and the results were mostly positive. This allowed for more coverage in central defense while pushed the fullbacks much further into the field.

But that typically came at the expense of playing with two central midfielders as opposed to three. The U.S. team is deepest in central midfield and removes quality at that position.

Pochettino might find a three-man backline necessary because central defense is the weakest area of the pool right now with only Chris Richards playing well. Having three central defenders will provide coverage and reduces space for the opposing team to attack.

Aside from Richards, Tim Ream has shown signs of aging to start 2026 while Miles Robinson and Auston Trusty have been up and down.

Another set of tools Pochettino has is with versatile players. Joe Scally and Alex Freeman can both play central defense in a three-man backline.

 

Gio is in

 

Gio Reyna is in the midst of yet another lost season. It was hopped that his transfer to Borussia Monchengladbach last summer would provide a spark in his stagnant club career. Thus far, that has not happened. He has played for just 399 minutes and doesn’t have a single goal contribution. He has had injuries, but even when he is able to suit up, there have been many times he has going unused.

Reyna has the benefit of the fact Diego Luna is injured and neither Malik Tillman nor Brenden Aaronson have sealed the deal of being a starting attacking midfielder or playmaker. Combined with Reyna having played well in his minutes during the November window, he gets yet another opportunity.

The reason for Reyna’s inclusion is that Pochettino likely still believes that Reyna can make a big play. If the U.S. team is chasing the game and needs a goal, Reyna still might be able to help in ways that others cannot. There are very few players who would get called up despite not having played much this season (nor most of the past four seasons).

Pochettino spoke of Reyna on Tuesday.

“I think Gio was fantastic in November with us,” Pochettino said. “I think everyone rates him in his game against Paraguay and then in the way that he was involved and committed with the team and with the national team. I was really happy with the aspect and the fact that he was involved. Before the last decision for the last roster before the World Cup, I think it's good to see players that maybe are not playing too much, like in that case of Gio, who is a very talented player. And we know how he can add to the national team. [It] is to see if he's affected about that, and if he is capable to perform with us again.”

He added: “I think we really know that he's a very special talent and very special player. I think to give the possibility, even if it's not playing too much with his club - if can be very useful for us. That is our mindset in the way that we made the decision to bring Gio in in the in this camp.”

That said, if Reyna doesn’t play well the rest of the season while Luna returns and plays well, he still might be in a bad position.

 

Cardoso’s opportunity

 

Johnny Cardoso returns to the U.S. national team for the first time since a tough summer in 2025 when he struggled in the run-up to the Gold Cup, dealt with injuries that limited his playing time, and might have been distracted with his transfer to Atletico Madrid.

While he has begun playing with regularity for Atletico in recent months, this is a huge camp for him. Cardoso, 24, has been around the national team since 2020 when he was just 18 and he enters this camp having 22 camps. He is still looking for his first solid performance for the USMNT. He’s been decent at moments, but he hasn’t had a game yet where he has made a big positive impact yet on the team’s overall performance.

That raises the question of whether Cardoso will make the World Cup team if he doesn’t stand out in this camp? If he has another pair of performances where he is just a passenger and the team doesn’t impress, does his club resume alone justify a spot on the World Cup team? It might not. He might be very good at playing a role for his club that does not translate over to the U.S. team.

But Cardoso has more work to do at this camp than other players.  

 

The Banks saga

 

Of all the players who are not on this roster (no including the injured players), Noahkai Banks is the one that will draw the most attention. In the weeks leading up to this camp, it has been reported in German outlets that Banks was considering switching to play for Germany, where he spent most of his formative years. His mother played for Germany’s national team in women’s basketball and his stepfather played for Germany’s national team in handball.

Kicker accurately reported that Banks was not going to be on this roster as he contemplated his future.

There have been many times when dual nationals request time as they make a decision. Sergino Dest missed a camp as he mulled over options with the Netherlands. Timothy Chandler also took time off when he enjoyed a breakout season.

But not wanting to get involved with the USMNT this close to a World Cup makes this a very different situation. Playing in these camps would not change his eligibility for Germany. Still, he is not here.

Banks has played for the U.S. youth teams, including at a U-17 World Cup. Now he is very close to sealing a World Cup spot. If that is not enough to persuade a player to play for a national team, nothing will be. Germany has essentially ignored him until this year.

Despite that, Pochettino left the door open for Banks, who he spoke at length about on Tuesday.

“I think Noahkai is a young kid that has become a man so quickly, because now he's playing in the Bundesliga,” Pochettino said. “If you remember, we brought him in September in New Jersey and in Columbus. He was a little bit unlucky because we wanted to give him the possibility to play and he was injured. But he was with us and I think it was a great opportunity to see and to talk with him and to get to know each other - with the team, with the rest of the team and the staff and everything.

He still has not yet made the decision. He's thinking a lot. He's in a situation that is not easy for him. We are very focused on him because we follow him. He's in the pool of players that we follow. In the moment that we signed the contract with the U.S. men's national team, I think we started to work to identify talent and young talent."

"If he made the decision and the decision is to be with us, of course, he is going to be on our radar to see if we will select him or not. But at the moment, he was very clear in the situation that he is not available to be selected because he still has not made the decisions

Jesus [Perez] was seeing him in Augsburg, and he was talking with him. I was talking to him by FaceTime, Zoom. We have great contact and I really appreciate him. He's a very nice kid, but it's a difficult situation and hope for USA that the decision will be for our side because I think it's not only the present, it's the future too. I think it's only to give time and to support him in the way that we, and when I say we - the whole federation, are supporting him and trying to, not to convince because it's not about to convince, it's about to show that the federation really cares about him.”

 

Other absences

 

Yunus Musah was left off this roster but it should not be much of a surprise. Despite scoring two goals earlier this month in substitute appearances for Atalanta, it has still been a lost season for Musah on loan at Atalanta where he has failed to break through. While Reyna was able to force his way onto this roster with limited club minutes, there likely isn’t confidence that Musah can make difference making plays.

Alex Zendejas is one of the more notable absences on the team given that he is playing well for Club America and can play out wide, where the team is thin. Zendejas simply hasn’t been around the team enough to make much of an impact, despite the fact he played well during the September window.

Patrick Schulte and Jonathan Klinsmann are two goalkeepers who have been pushing to be the team’s third goalkeeper. But with Pochettino taking four goalkeepers on this roster, missing this camp is not a good sign. But it is reflective in current form. Schulte and Columbus have been struggling out of the gate while Cesena in Serie B have started to conceded a lot of goals over the past two months.

 

Four goalkeepers

 

Having four goalkeepers on this roster is noteworthy. This close to the World Cup, it suggests that the staff is still uncertain over the order within the national team.

Matt Freese seems to be the No. 1 although it would not be surprising if Matt Turner could return to being the World Cup starter.  After that it has been a variety of players taking up the No. 3. It seems as if Pochettino knew the third keeper, there wouldn’t be four on this team.'

Roman Celentano has had a good year for Cincinnati and was arguably the best American goalkeeper in MLS. Chris Brady is pushing and still has a nice upside.