Exclusive: Ex-USMNT player Shaq Moore reveals behid the scenes of World Cup squad selection process

A prospect of the IMG Academy, the 29-year-old Shaq Moore began his senior soccer career as part of Huracán in Spain. Following his time there and six appearances, Moore found his way to Oviedo B and a few more clubs in Spain. Following his successful run in Tenerife, Moore made the jump to MLS and joined Nashville SC.

A right-back, Moore is quite well known for his international experience, having been an integral part of the USMNT’s youth teams. The 29-year-old made his debut for the senior team in 2018 and even represented the USMNT in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup coming up, Shaq Moore sat down for an interview with ClutchPoints, where he opened up in detail about the World Cup squad selection process, the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup run, and the internal competition.

The USMNT and Mauricio Pochettino recently announced this year’s squad. With a strong and experienced team, Moore revealed the behind-the-scenes process of the squad selection. “Yeah. So it depends, right? So, you know, obviously leading up to the camp, to the final roster. So you go in and, you know, you wanna show well, and also you wanna go back to your club team and perform as well as you can. And then, by the time the final roster comes, you know, there’s like a preliminary roster,” Moore said.

“So say the final roster is 26, he might send a preliminary roster of like, what, 50 guys. And then from those 50 guys, then he kind of, you know, breaks it down. It’s nice when you get the call. Usually, it’s like a day or two before the roster comes out, he’ll call you personally and say, ‘Yeah, you know, you made the roster,’ or he might, you know, go the other way and say, you know, ‘You didn’t make the roster.’ So that’s usually how it goes. Obviously, every coach is different.”

Shaq Moore reveals the internal competition amongst players for USMNT squad selection

Despite the same intention of representing one’s country and doing their best for them, thousands of domestic players need to compete amongst themselves to find a place in the top 26 or the playing 11. Reflecting on how difficult the competition and selection process is, Moore reflected on what he did to make the cut.

“Very difficult because, as you said, there’s a lot of competition from players from all over the world. The US is a big country, so we have a big pool of 100-something players. So to slim it down to 26 is a little difficult. I know what I did. I just tried to put on tunnel vision, right? So just focus on what you can focus on, work hard, do your part, and then, you know, let the cards show as they will. That’s what I did. Just kinda focus on me, do what I can, and then, you know, live with the results.”

The FIFA World Cup is one of the most respected and watched tournaments across the world. With extremely high stakes, Moore believes the USMNT will perform well this year, simply based on their experience and talent. While this year’s squad is more experienced, Moore believes last year’s team had a lot to learn following their campaign.

Shaq Moore discusses his learnings from USMNT’s 2022 FIFA World Cup loss

Last time in 2022, the USMNT lost to the Netherlands in the Round of 16. Looking back at that loss, Moore opened up on his learnings. “It was a responsibility after not qualifying in 2018. The responsibility you had was big,” he said while recollecting his learnings from the tournament. “Also, just living in the moment because, you know, it seems like you blink and the World Cup is done. So those are probably the two lessons I learned. Definitely unforgettable experience.”

How did the USMNT squad react to their loss to the Netherlands in the 2022 FIFA World Cup?

In the same interview with ClutchPoints, FC Dallas defender Shaq Moore was asked about the 2022 team’s reaction to their R-16 loss to the Netherlands. While the Dutch are one of the strongest teams in the world, the USMNT were fairly inexperienced in front of them. Despite the differences between the two teams and the USMNT’s overall lack of experience, Moore believes it was a “decent showing.”

“I  think it was, I think it was a decent showing. Obviously, coming off not qualifying for the World Cup, just being there was already, you know, a privilege. We had a young team back then. I think I was probably one of the older guys at 26, 27. Given all that, I think it was a strong showing. Obviously, you always want more.

“Every time you lose, you’re never happy with it. But I do think it kinda solidified a core of the group, a kinda identity of the group that we were missing going into this World Cup. So we just definitely wanna build on that going into this one. We know there’s no easy game starting with the group,” he said. “Every game in the group is hard, so you wanna focus on getting out of the group and then, you know, taking it from there.”

Pochettino’s USMNT is set to begin its campaign on Jun. 12, 2026, against Paraguay at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.

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