This snubbed USMNT XI is far stronger than fans probably realize

It's official. Mauricio Pochettino has named his 26-player roster for this summer's World Cup on home soil. The full squad can be found at the very bottom of this article. As is always the case with every national team, much of the focus was on who did not make the cut, which got us thinking. How strong would a U.S. XI be of snubbed players, and would it be competitive at the World Cup?

Goalkeeper: Patrick Schulte

There was plenty of choice when it came to the best goalkeeper not included in the squad. Diego Kochen, Roman Celentano and Jonathan Klinsmann have all been called up but not capped in recent months, while Brad Stuver continues to be excellent for Austin.

Nevertheless, we went for Patrick Schulte. The 25 year old has three senior caps to his name, starting January camp friendlies against Slovenia and Venezuela, as well as a 2-1 loss against Canada in Kansas during Mikey Varas's short interim tenure. He was though first-choice at the Olympics two summers ago, as the U.S. reached the quarter-finals, so may feel hard done by not to get the call.

Right-back: Marlon Fossey

Given that Pochettino included three right-backs in his roster, including surprise selection Joe Scally, choosing the best of the rest was not easy. Our nominees were Nathan Harriel, Shaq Moore and Marlon Fossey, going with the latter.

Fossey racked up 1,559 minutes for Standard Liège this season, starting 20 Jupiler Pro League games, as les Rouches narrowly missed out on European qualification. He has two USMNT caps to his name, starting against New Zealand in Cincinnati and the Nations League third-place game against Canada in March 2025, not called up since, despite regularly captaining a strong Belgian side.

Centre-backs: Cameron Carter-Vickers & Noahkai Banks

Had it not been for injury, Cameron Carter-Vickers may well have been in this squad. The 28 year old suffered a serious Achilles injury against Sturm Graz in October and that proved to be the end of his season. Before this, he had been a rock-solid figure at Celtic for many years, earning international recognition as a result. CCV has 19 USMNT caps, including starting against Iran at the last World Cup, and while he'd only played once for Pochettino, had he stayed fit, he surely would've been in contention to join his club teammate Auston Trusty on the plane.

The reason for Noahkai Banks' omission is very different. The 19 year old is as yet uncapped at senior level, but was on the bench for September's win over Japan in Columbus. However, back in March, the teenager intimated that he had not yet decided whether to represent the U.S. or Germany. Having been excellent for Augsburg this season, accumulating 23 Bundesliga appearances, one has to imagine that Banks would have been in the squad, had he wanted to be.

Left back: John Tolkin

Unlike on the opposite side, there are plenty of not selected left-back candidates. We could have gone for Kristoffer Lund, Caleb Wiley or DeJuan Jones, but the best of the bunch has to be John Tolkin. He has ten senior caps on his résumé, featuring in four Gold Cup matches last summer, as well as being deployed at wing-back for November's 5-1 demolition of Uruguay in Tampa.

On the club side, Tolkin's move to Holstein Kiel has not elevated his status as he may have envisaged. Six months after his arrival, die Störche were relegated from Germany's top-tier, finishing 12th in the Zweite Bundesliga his year, with Tolkin starting 27 of 29 matches before suffering a medial knee ligament injury against Fortuna Düsseldorf in April.

Central midfielders: Johnny Cardoso, Tanner Tessmann & Aidan Morris

First and foremost, the fact that Yunus Musah isn't even included in this not called up XI shows how far he has fallen. The MMA midfield trio, alongside Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, was the bed-rock of Gregg Berhalter's team, but Musah's form has fallen off a cliff in more recent times.

In terms of who we have gone for, Johnny Cardoso would have been going to the World Cup had it not been for injury. The 24 year old had been regularly excellent for Real Betis and current club Atlético Madrid, but has never really impressed in a U.S. shirt, despite earning 23 caps. Nevertheless, just at a point where it felt as though Pochettino was figuring him out, Johnny suffered a "high grade" ankle injury earlier this month, which will have been heartbreaking for him.

Similarly heartbroken will surely be Tanner Tessmann, one of the more notable omissions on Tuesday. He has made 41 appearances for Olympique Lyonnais this season, helping les Gones get into the Champions League places, as well as featuring in each of the USA's last six friendlies, starting against Ecuador, Paraguay and Belgium. Thus, it remains a mystery as to why Tessmann didn't make the cut.

Lastly, it has not been a good week for Aidan Morris. On Saturday, his Middlesbrough team missed out on promotion to the Premier League, beaten by Hull at Wembley, before discovering he will not be World Cup-bound. Morris had been key to Boro's promotion push, racking up 3,622 minutes, as well as featuring in five of the United States' last six friendlies, but seemingly not doing enough.

Wide-attackers: Diego Luna & Jack McGlynn

The player most fans were disappointed and frustrated not to see on Pochettino's list was, by some distance, that of Diego Luna. He became a favourite with both the fanbase and the head coach during 2025, featuring in 15 successive internationals, scoring four goals, including a brace against Guatemala in the Gold Cup semi-finals in St. Louis. He missed the March window injured and, despite four goals in nine MLS matches for Real Salt Lake this year, did not make the cut... not sure why.

On the opposite flank, he would've been much more of an outside pick, but Jack McGlynn's quality is not up for debate. He scored inside 60 seconds when Türkiye visited Connecticut a year ago, a beautiful curler into the corner, albeit he has not been called up since September. McGlynn's set-piece deliver could've made him a useful asset, and is a must have in this fictional team.

Centre-forward: Patrick Agyemang

Lastly, Patrick Agyemang would for certain be World Cup-bound this summer if it was not for an injury at exactly the wrong time. The 25 year old tore his Achilles against Stoke on Easter weekend, expected not to feature again until after Christmas. Before this, Pochettino had just figured out what sort of player he is. Agyemang scored six times across his first nine USMNT caps, on target against Trinidad & Tobago and then Haiti during the Gold Cup.

His physical style and excellent hold up play made the Derby County attacker the perfect player to bring off the bench, as he was against Belgium and Portugal in March. However, that option has been snatched away from the USA, but Agyemang does have a big international future later down the line.

This hypothetical lineup is obviously limited, given that all of USA's genuine top-class players are in the real squad. Nevertheless, this lineup is certainly stronger than some of the teams we will see at the World Cup for real, naming no New Zealands or Jordans.

Confirmed United States World Cup 2026 squad

Goalkeepers

Defenders

Midfielders

Forwards

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