USA World Cup squad: Lineup and tactics for 2026

USA are one of three co-hosts at World Cup 2026, with the majority of the matches at the 48-team event set to take place in the country. With home advantage on their side, the USA have already gone a long way to proving they won’t just be making up the numbers.

It is fair to say Mauricio Pochettino had some teething problems in the early part of his tenure, but after making good progress in the last few months, they produced possibly the best ever performance in a World Cup game – blowing Paraguay away with some scintillating attacking football.

Pochettino has settled on a 4-2-3-1 formation with Monaco striker Folarin Balogun up top – he bagged a brace in the 4-1 win, following a 19-goal season in the French principality. US poster boy Christian Pulisic was in excellent form, creating numerous chances before being forced off at half-time with a calf injury. The AC Milan winger should be ok to start the next game.

One more point will be enough to see them through to the knockouts, but the USMNT will be keen to secure top spot and a theoretically easier path.

USA World Cup 2026 squad and predicted lineup: key takeaways

• The injury to Johnny Cardoso leaves a meaningful gap in the midfield pivot alongside Tyler Adams, with Cristian Roldan an inexperienced replacement at this level, making USA’s defensive midfield the most vulnerable position in Pochettino’s setup.
• Folarin Balogun offers better goalscorer value than Pulisic given his prolific club season at Monaco and his status as the confirmed starter up front, while Pulisic’s odds will be inflated by name recognition rather than his role in the system.
• Home advantage at a co-hosted tournament is real but complicated, as the USA will play their group games across multiple cities in different states rather than in front of a consistent home crowd, diluting the traditional home factor.
• Tyler Adams and Chris Richards are the most relevant USA picks for the cards market, as a combative ball-winner and an aerial defender respectively in a Pochettino side built around aggressive pressing.
• The USA have never won the World Cup and their best modern result was a quarter-final in 2002, making any deep-run outright market on them a significant leap of faith despite the home advantage narrative that will dominate their pre-tournament coverage.

Mauricio Pochettino has found feet

After an early exit from Copa America 2024, the USA parted ways with Gregg Berhalter. The federation managed to persuade Mauricio Pochettino to become his permanent successor, with the Argentinian tasked with leading the Stars and Stripes at a home World Cup.

Pochettino is a top-class coach, but results had been mixed for much of his tenure. Any doubters prior to this tournament, however, will have been emphatically won over after that first game against Paraguay. They’ll hope to replicate that against Australia and Türkiye.

The USA are not expected to win the World Cup, but playing at home brings a pressure of its own. Pochettino has the right temperament to handle that, and his favoured intense, aggressive style of play is a good fit for this group of American players.

The star player: Christian Pulisic

Now 27 years of age, this World Cup is the biggest moment in Christian Pulisic’s international career. The great hope of American soccer for years, Pulisic has sometimes had to deal with unrealistic expectations from fans of the national team, but he has a respectable scoring record for his country.

Pulisic has played for some of Europe’s biggest clubs, none more so than his current employers AC Milan. Having hit double figures for goals in each of his last three campaigns, the forward will be the man the USA look to for inspiration in the final third.

Pulisic has scored 32 goals in 85 games for the USA, who will look to get the ball to him in dangerous areas. The emergence of Folarin Balogun has taken some of the heat off Pulisic, and the pair were already linking up to devastating effect in their opener.

USA 2026 World Cup confirmed 26-man squad

How USA lined up against Paraguay

How to bet on the USA World Cup squad

There are specific betting markets relevant to the USA starting XI for World Cup 2026. One of the most popular is the anytime goalscorer market.

Christian Pulisic will get plenty of attention here as the USA’s most high-profile player, but Folarin Balogun has had a productive season at club level, while Weston McKennie is an outside bet.

Another individual player market worth watching is cards. Tyler Adams is a combative midfielder who will have a key role to play in protecting the USA defence. At the back, Chris Richards is not one to shirk a challenge either in the air or on the ground.

FAQ about the 2026 USA World Cup squad

1. How many times have USA won the World Cup?

The USA have never won the World Cup before. Their best performance to date came in the inaugural edition of 1930, when the Stars and Stripes finished third. Their standout moment in modern times was a run to the quarter-finals in 2002. This summer will be the USA’s 12th appearance at the tournament.

2. Which players are injured and missing from the starting 11?

Midfielder Johnny Cardoso will miss the World Cup with an ankle injury. That is a blow to Mauricio Pochettino, who probably would have paired Cardoso with Tyler Adams in midfield.

Derby Country’s Patrick Agyemang is another confirmed absentee, having ruptured an achilles tendon towards the end of the Championship season. Christian Pulisic and Tim Weah have been selected and are expected to be fit in time for the game against Paraguay.

3. Are there any changes to USA’s usual starting 11?

The USA starting XI has gone through substantial changes since World Cup 2022. Matt Turner, Walker Zimmerman, Yunus Musah, Gio Reyna and Jesus Ferreira have all fallen out of favour since Qatar, with Matt Freese, Sebastian Berhalter and Folarin Balogun among the relative newcomers to the team.

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About the author

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.

Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball

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