{"id":600256,"date":"2026-05-23T19:12:10","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:12:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/600256\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T19:12:10","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T19:12:10","slug":"usmnt-world-cup-full-roster-alejandro-zendejas-is-in-tanner-tessmann-misses-out-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/600256\/","title":{"rendered":"USMNT World Cup full roster: Alejandro Zendejas is in, Tanner Tessmann misses out | USA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Club Am\u00e9rica winger Alejandro Zendejas is on the United States\u2019 26-man roster<\/a> for this summer\u2019s World Cup, while Lyon defensive midfielder Tanner Tessmann is not included. The selections are the most notable new information gleaned from head coach Mauricio Pochettino\u2019s full World Cup roster, which was obtained by the Guardian and is authentic according to multiple sources with knowledge of Pochettino\u2019s selections.<\/p>\n

The roster confirms Zendejas\u2019s selection and Tessmann\u2019s omission, along with the inclusion of Borussia M\u00f6nchengladbach\u2019s Gio Reyna and the omission of Real Salt Lake\u2019s Diego Luna, both attacking midfielders, choices that were first reported by the Athletic. US Soccer declined to comment on the roster, which will be officially announced Tuesday at a nationally televised event in New York City.<\/p>\n

Reyna and Berhalter make the cut<\/p>\n

Reyna has been included despite playing only 520 minutes for M\u00f6nchengladbach this season, though he featured in the club\u2019s final five league matches. Pochettino has repeatedly praised the 23-year-old and singled him out as a player he\u2019s willing to include regardless of club form.<\/p>\n

During the 2022 World Cup, Reyna found himself at the center of one of the most dramatic and bizarre moments in men\u2019s national team history, having nearly been sent home from the tournament for behavioral issues. Not long afterwards, Reyna\u2019s parents became ensnared in a prolonged public falling out<\/a> with US coach Gregg Berhalter. The situation has cast a shadow over Reyna in the years that followed.<\/p>\n

Sebastian Berhalter, the son of the former USMNT coach, is also on the roster. The 25-year-old never represented the US at the youth international levels, but forced his way into Pochettino\u2019s plans on the back of his considerable development since joining the Vancouver Whitecaps in 2022. Berhalter made the MLS Best XI last year as the Whitecaps\u2019 chief orchestrator en route to the club\u2019s first MLS Cup berth and first run to the Concacaf Champions Cup final. Berhalter also gives this team a dead-ball specialist, able to consistently place corner kicks in dangerous areas.<\/p>\n

Gio Reyna has been included on the US roster for this summer\u2019s World Cup. Photograph: Andrew J Clark\/ISI Photos\/USSF\/Getty ImagesLuna and Tessmann miss out<\/p>\n

Despite being a key contributor throughout the USMNT\u2019s buildup to the World Cup<\/a>, Luna did not make the roster. He was the subject of frequent praise from Pochettino for his aggressiveness on both sides of the ball and scored four goals in 17 appearances in 2025, emerging as a breakout star. Despite missing March camp as he returned from an injury, Luna has returned in great form with four goals and two assists in seven MLS appearances (six starts) since 1 April.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old also featured widely in promotional pushes ahead of the tournament, including a glitzy ad by tournament rights holder Fox<\/a>. A spokesperson for the federation said earlier this week that Pochettino had nothing to do with the players selected to appear in those advertisements, some of which were produced months ago.<\/p>\n

Luna has been navigating nagging knee and muscular issues in 2026 but was still expected to be included in Pochettino\u2019s plans. Less surprising is the omission of Luna\u2019s RSL teammate Zavier Gozo<\/a>. Gozo has yet to appear for the senior USMNT but was on last year\u2019s roster for the U20 World Cup and has since been outstanding for RSL, which led to speculation he might be included.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Zendejas is among Liga MX\u2019s most dangerous forwards, with 12 goals and seven assists in 2,443 minutes to lead Club Am\u00e9rica\u2019s attack. Despite his form, Pochettino has given Zendejas just 139 minutes<\/a> across six appearances, with his most recent shift coming on 9 September against Japan.<\/p>\n

Tessmann, 24, suffered a muscle strain at Lyon two weeks ago but was still expected to be included in the roster. It\u2019s not immediately clear whether Tessman\u2019s exclusion is injury-related. The FC Dallas academy product appeared in 29 league matches for Lyon this season, starting 22 of them.<\/p>\n

Middlesbrough midfielder Aidan Morris was also omitted. The 24-year-old has been everpresent with his club and featured heavily in the USMNT\u2019s March friendlies against Portugal and Belgium. Morris and Tessmann seemed more likely to make the cut after Johnny Cardoso\u2019s high-grade ankle injury<\/a> earlier this month.<\/p>\n

Additional notes<\/p>\n

As it stands, there are only four central or defensive midfielders on Pochettino\u2019s squad, with Weston McKennie joining Berhalter, Cristian Roldan and Tyler Adams. McKennie had seemed likely to play further upfield after his attacking midfield deployment in the March window.<\/p>\n

The defensive corps has gained the extra number, with 10 defenders picked to split time among four or five starting slots. Center-back Chris Richards is on the roster after Crystal Palace\u2019s manager announced<\/a> he would miss the team\u2019s league finale this weekend with torn ligaments in his ankle. Missing among the central defenders is Noahkai Banks, the dual-national who left his international status in limbo and declined a US call-up in March as he weighed interest from Germany.<\/p>\n

Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady joins Matt Freese and Matt Turner on the roster. Brady, 22, is among the most in-form keepers in MLS and has been called into national team camp several times but never capped. Brady is the presumed No 3 behind Freese and Turner.<\/p>\n

In total, 13 members of Pochettino\u2019s squad have made their second World Cup roster, with the other half is comprised of first-time selections.<\/p>\n

The USMNT will play their final two matches prior to the World Cup against Senegal on 31 May and Germany on 6 June. Managers must submit their rosters to Fifa by 1 June and are only able to change their squads after officially naming the 26-man roster in \u201cexceptional cases\u201d, a loosely defined circumstance which must be approved by Fifa\u2019s medical committee.<\/p>\n

USMNT 2026 World Cup roster<\/p>\n

(First-time World Cup selections indicated with an asterisk, caps and goals listed in parentheses)<\/p>\n

Goalkeepers (3): Chris Brady* (Chicago Fire, 0 caps\/0 goals), Matt Freese* (New York City, 14\/0), Matt Turner (New England Revolution, 53\/0)<\/p>\n

Defenders (10): Max Arfsten* (Columbus Crew, 18\/1), Sergi\u00f1o Dest (PSV, 37\/2), Alex Freeman* (Villarreal, 15\/2), Mark McKenzie* (Toulouse, 27\/0), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC, 80\/1), Chris Richards* (Crystal Palace, 36\/3), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, 52\/4), Miles Robinson* (FC Cincinnati, 38\/3), Joe Scally (Borussia M\u00f6nchengladbach, 24\/0), Auston Trusty* (Celtic, 6\/0)<\/p>\n

Midfielders (4): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth, 52\/2), Sebastian Berhalter* (Vancouver Whitecaps, 11\/1), Weston McKennie (Juventus, 64\/12), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders, 45\/0)<\/p>\n

Attacking midfielders\/wingers (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, 57\/9), Christian Pulisic (Milan, 84\/32), Gio Reyna (Borussia M\u00f6nchengladbach, 36\/9), Malik Tillman* (Bayer Leverkusen, 28\/3), Tim Weah (Marseille, 49\/7), Alejandro Zendejas* (Club Am\u00e9rica, 13\/2)<\/p>\n

Strikers (3): Folarin Balogun* (AS Monaco, 25\/8), Ricardo Pepi* (PSV, 35\/13), Haji Wright (Coventry City, 20\/7)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Club Am\u00e9rica winger Alejandro Zendejas is on the United States\u2019 26-man roster for this summer\u2019s World Cup, while…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":600257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[218,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-600256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-football","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=600256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/600256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/600257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=600256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=600256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=600256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}