EL PASO, Texas (KFOX14\/CBS4) \u2014 El Paso natives Ricardo Pepi and Alejandro “Alex” Zendejas have officially been selected to represent the United States at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. <\/p>\n
Pepi and Zendejas were both named as part of Mauricio Pochettino’s 26-man squad for the tournament. The squad was leaked on Saturday by ESPN and The Guardian, but was made official on Tuesday. <\/p>\n
Pepi has played 35 times for the United States and scored 13 goals. This season, the striker scored 19 goals and provided 2 assists in 34 matches for PSV Eindhoven. <\/p>\n
Zendejas was a relatively surprising inclusion to the squad, as he missed out on the March roster. <\/p>\n
Zendejas has played 13 times for the U.S., scoring twice and assisting once. <\/p>\n
Zendejas was among the standout players in Liga MX this season. The midfielder scored 12 goals and had seven assists in 33 total appearances for Club America. <\/p>\n
Former El Paso Locomotive midfielder Diego Luna was left off the roster. One of the biggest “snubs” for many, Luna has four goals and four assists for the USMNT and was among the most capped players since Pochettino took over as head coach. <\/p>\n
RECOMMENDED: Locos midfielder Saint\u00e9 called up for Haiti’s first World Cup since 1974<\/a><\/p>\n The official 26-man United States squad (Appearances for the USMNT, goals): <\/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 The United States will kick off its 2026 campaign on June 12 against Paraguay. Also in Group D, the US will face Australia on June 19 and Turkey on June 25. <\/p>\n RECOMMENDED: Donovan, Howard say Musah\u2019s Gold Cup opt-out hurt his World Cup roster chances<\/a><\/p>\n