USA
FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 · GROUP D · POT 1

USA
World Cup 26-man squad

Manager Mauricio Pochettino · Argentine head coach appointed in September 2024. Built his reputation at Southampton, Tottenham, PSG and Chelsea — first World Cup as USMNT manager. Flexible between 3-4-2-1 and 4-2-3-1.
MD1 Jun 12 vs Paraguay MD2 Jun 19 vs Australia MD3 Jun 25 vs Türkiye
11th World Cup appearance · best finish: Third place (1930)
26
Squad size
26.4
Avg. age
19 / 26
Overseas-based
13 / 13
WC veterans / Debutants
TEAM STORY

Mauricio Pochettino named his 26-man squad on May 21. Thirteen players carry over from Qatar 2022 and the average age (26 years, 332 days) is the fifth-youngest USMNT roster ever. The shape is defence-heavy — 10 DF, 6 MF, 7 FW — built around Pochettino's preferred 3-4-2-1.

Spine: Christian Pulisic (Milan), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Weston McKennie (Juventus) and Chris Richards (Crystal Palace) anchor a deeply European-based core. 2022 starters Ream, Dest and Pulisic blend with younger forwards Pepi (PSV) and Balogun (Monaco) — all eyes on home advantage.

Group D pits the USA against Paraguay, Australia and Türkiye in LA, Seattle and LA again. With home-soil benefits at every match, the realistic target is a quarter-final — surpassing the Qatar 2022 Round of 16.

PREDICTED XI

LIKELY 3-4-2-1.

Pochettino's preferred 3-4-2-1. Dest tucks in as a right-sided centre-back, both wing-backs push high, and two shadows behind Pepi look to run beyond. Adams sits as the anchor.

3-4-2-1 (predicted)
KEY PLAYERS

KEY PLAYERS.

The five players who set the tone in the group stage — by role and trait.

10
LW · FW
Christian Pulisic
Milan · 27
84 caps · 32G WC: 2022
Captain & talisman
CAPTAIN
4
CDM · MF
Tyler Adams
Bournemouth · 27 · Premier League
52 caps · 2G WC: 2022
Midfield heart
ACE
9
ST · FW
Ricardo Pepi
PSV Eindhoven · 23 · Eredivisie
35 caps · 13G WC debut
Young goalscoring No.9
5
LB · DF
Antonee Robinson
Fulham · 28 · Premier League
52 caps · 4G WC: 2022
Two-way left flank
7
CAM · MF
Giovanni Reyna
Borussia Mönchengladbach · 23 · Bundesliga
36 caps · 9G WC: 2022
Creative second striker
SQUAD

SQUAD 26.

GK GOALKEEPERS 3
DF DEFENDERS 10
MF MIDFIELDERS 6
FW FORWARDS 7
GROUP D

GROUP D.

USA
USA
POT 1
PAR
Paraguay
POT 2
AUS
Australia
POT 3
TUR
Türkiye
POT 4
Fri, Jun 12
USA vs Paraguay
Los Angeles Stadium · Inglewood, CA
Home opener at LA's Los Angeles Stadium. Cracking Paraguay's organised block falls on Pulisic/Reyna's creativity, with Adams expected to control midfield tempo.
View lineups →
MD1
Fri, Jun 19
USA vs Australia
Seattle Stadium · Seattle, WA
Second match in Seattle. Containing Australia's physical forwards tests the Richards/Ream centre-back partnership in aerial duels.
View lineups →
MD2
Thu, Jun 25
USA vs Türkiye
Los Angeles Stadium · Inglewood, CA
Group decider. Türkiye carry strong attacking power for a Pot 4 side — Calhanoğlu and Akturkoğlu test the US midfield duo.
View lineups →
MD3

Road to the final

Spoiler-free: the potential bracket route by final group position. No results shown.

Win Group D
  1. Round of 32 Jul 01 · Santa Clara vs 3rd place (B/E/F/I/J)
  2. Round of 16 Jul 06 · Seattle vs Winner of Match 82
  3. Quarter-finals Jul 10 · Inglewood vs Winner of Match 93
  4. Semi-finals Jul 14 · Arlington vs Winner of Match 97
  5. Final Jul 19 · East Rutherford vs Winner of Match 102
Runners-up, Group D
  1. Round of 32 Jul 03 · Arlington vs Runners-up Group G
  2. Round of 16 Jul 07 · Atlanta vs Winner of Match 86
  3. Quarter-finals Jul 11 · Kansas City vs Winner of Match 96
  4. Semi-finals Jul 15 · Atlanta vs Winner of Match 99
  5. Final Jul 19 · East Rutherford vs Winner of Match 101
← Back to World Cup hub
FIFA, FIFA World Cup, and the FIFA World Cup 2026 logo are trademarks of FIFA. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or otherwise associated with FIFA or any of its affiliated organisations.
Flag icons by flag-icons (Panayiotis Lipiridis), MIT License.