{"id":334068,"date":"2026-05-27T06:26:18","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/334068\/"},"modified":"2026-05-27T06:26:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T06:26:18","slug":"max-arfsten-named-to-u-s-national-team-roster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/334068\/","title":{"rendered":"Max Arfsten named to U.S. national team roster"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former San Joaquin Memorial High School standout Max Arfsten has already experienced the bright lights of Major League Soccer\u2019s biggest showcase.<\/p>\n

As a member of Columbus Crew, Arfsten earned a spot in the MLS All-Star Game, calling the experience in Austin \u201cawesome\u201d as he shared the field with some of the league\u2019s top talent.<\/p>\n

Now, the Fresno native is one step closer to an even bigger dream.<\/p>\n

Arfsten<\/a> was among the 26 players selected Tuesday for the United States Men\u2019s National Team roster for the World Cup, a major milestone for the former standout from the central San Joaquin Valley whose soccer journey has taken an unconventional path from Fresno to UC Davis and eventually MLS.<\/p>\n

The World Cup will take place from June 11 to July 19 across host nations United States, Canada and Mexico, with Arfsten one of 10 defenders on the U.S. roster.<\/p>\n

The U.S. will play four friendlies over the next few weeks before opening World Cup play against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood on June 12.<\/p>\n

\"Former Former San Joaquin Memorial star Max Arfsten made the US men\u2019s national team for the World Cup. ANTHONY GALAVIZ agalaviz@fresnobee.com <\/p>\n

Before learning he had officially made the national team roster, Arfsten spoke to The Bee in December during a ceremony at Logan Park in Fresno, where the city honored his rise through the soccer ranks.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight now I\u2019m playing with Columbus Crew in MLS,\u201d Arfsten said at the time. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be my fourth season there. I played college soccer at UC Davis, and this year I was involved with the national team starting in January. I made every camp this year in 2025, so hopefully I continue to be involved with the national team in 2026. It\u2019s God\u2019s plan, really.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the rapid rise, Arfsten said he never focused on outside expectations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like maybe I\u2019ve done better than a lot of people thought I was going to do because my journey\u2019s been a bit different than most people in MLS,\u201d Arfsten said. \u201cBut for myself personally, I don\u2019t really think about it that way. I just kind of try to do my best at every level, and we see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n

The possibility of representing the United States on soccer\u2019s biggest stage has now become reality.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor myself personally, I think I just got to keep working hard and taking care of business with my club team in Columbus,\u201d Arfsten said. \u201cPerform every single day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Defender Defender Max Arfsten, who played in 16 of the United States\u2019 18 matches in 2025, has been named to the 26-player U.S. roster for the World Cup this summer. HOWARD SMITH Getty Images <\/p>\n

While many players might feel pressure competing for a World Cup roster spot, Arfsten said he has tried to stay grounded.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a lot of anticipation because I want to make the team,\u201d he said. \u201cBut I try not to put pressure on myself honestly. I just try to control what I can and do the best I can in every facet of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, the opportunity to wear the red, white and blue on soccer\u2019s biggest stage is within reach.<\/p>\n

\u201cDream come true for me,\u201d Arfsten said. \u201cMost definitely, no doubt about it. That\u2019s definitely what I\u2019m striving for, and I\u2019m going to do everything I can to make it happen.\u201d<\/p>\n

This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 2:08 PM.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Fresno Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Anthony Galaviz<\/a><\/p>\n

The Fresno Bee<\/p>\n

Anthony Galaviz writes about sports for The Fresno Bee. He covers the Las Vegas Raiders, high schools, boxing, MMA and junior colleges. He\u2019s been with The Bee since 1997 and attended Fresno City College before graduating from Fresno State with a major in journalism and a minor in criminology.
\n Support my work with a digital subscription<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former San Joaquin Memorial High School standout Max Arfsten has already experienced the bright lights of Major League…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334069,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-334068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334068\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334069"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}