On a wintery day in Fresno, California, a group of friends are playing soccer at a local park. In what has become an annual tradition for a collective of 10 to 12 players predominantly from the United Soccer League (USL), the group trains together in the offseason as a way to stay fit for the new year. With an energy of amicable competition, these sessions are an invaluable boost for those who are setting goals for 2026.
Kicking and chasing the ball across the modest public greenery, many are looking for new contracts in the lower leagues, others are seeking to simply stay fit, but as for one prominent player in attendance?
"Everyone's basically grinding for something," said the U.S. men's national team's Max Arfsten to ESPN. "For me, it's trying to make the World Cup."
Just months out from this year's momentous tournament, Arfsten's 2026 preparations began here with his close circle in his hometown, where the Columbus Crew fullback was stopped a couple of times by kids to take photos after his practices. With his MLS season ending in early November and not beginning again until Feb. 21, the 24-year-old drew upon a potent source of motivation for an athlete at any level: not wanting to lose to your friends.
"Every time you play against the guys from your hometown ... you kind of innately want to prove your worth," Arfsten said. "You want to be the top dog in the city that you're from."
Doing so helped fuel Arfsten's rhythm during a slow period before a pivotal 2026. In fact, for those who didn't qualify for the playoffs last year, they'll go through a four-month stretch between official MLS matches, with preseason camps now back in full swing. Although the league will switch to a more globally aligned summer-to-spring calendar in 2027, which will push the offseason to the summer and shorten the winter break, at the moment there's an obvious gap in competitive games.
Of course, that break is needed in order to fully recover and regroup, but its timing complicates matters when you consider that weeks after MLS' 2026 season begins, the USMNT will have one last international window before head coach Mauricio Pochettino makes his final World Cup roster decisions. Conversely, the United States' high-profile stars in European leagues will be in the middle of their campaigns, boasting match fitness their domestic-based compatriots are unlikely to equal.
With the World Cup around the corner, Arfsten isn't alone when it comes to extra offseason work. Across the country in St. Louis, Missouri, Columbus teammate Patrick Schulte has his own group that has helped him stay sharp.
"There's four or five of my buddies that I grew up playing with or went to college with that all live here or base here in the offseason, we get a good group together," said the goalkeeper who, like Arfsten, feeds off a cordial sense of rivalry.
"I don't want to get scored on by my friends because I won't hear the end of it," joked Schulte about his lively sessions back home. "As a goalkeeper, some of my buddies are forwards. I just want them to know, 'Hey, if we ever play, you got no chance.'"
Schulte and his crew regularly trained this offseason at St. Louis Scott Gallagher SC, where the national team goalkeeper developed his talents at a younger age, but similar to Arfsten's group, they also roamed around local parks. These sessions across St. Louis sometimes ballooned up to 30 players, which can include non-professional academy prospects testing the 24-year-old, who is in the running to head to the World Cup.
"We have MLS guys, we have guys in the USL, guys in [reserve] MLS Next Pro," said Schulte.
Over in Florida, fellow national team member Alex Freeman spent part of his MLS offseason at Fort Lauderdale's SAT Soccer, a program that specializes in customized training regimens for some of the world's top players. According to the company, other names with MLS experience such as Josef Martnez, Telasco Segovia, Juanjo Purata and Tadeo Allende also traveled there ahead of 2026.
"A lot of people in offseason come to that spot," Freeman said to ESPN about Fort Lauderdale. "A lot of guys who come in and text me about trainings, and we're able to get a little group and be able to just catch up and be able to also train together, and just be able to improve on whatever we need to do."
Individual work is also key. While Freeman -- who will leave Orlando City SC and join Villarreal in LaLiga this winter, a source told ESPN's Jeff Carlisle -- discussed fitness, Arfsten noted improvements on specific aspects of his wingback position: "defending, working on crossing, deep crossing." Schulte highlighted more sessions than usual in the offseason with a goalie coach that he grew up with.
Houston Dynamo and USMNT midfielder Jack McGlynn, who underwent foot surgery in October, centered on a more introspective style of individual improvement.
"A lot of mental work. I think when you're injured, you have a lot of time on your own to think and kind of reflect on your season, where you could do better," McGlynn told ESPN in late 2025. "A lot of watching film back of all of our games and seeing where I can improve, and I know where I can, and I can't wait to get back on the field, because I know how much better I'm going to be."
McGlynn is now back to full fitness. Just a few days ago, and with plenty still to prove to Pochettino before getting a call-up, he found the back of the net during a preseason game.
Considering that March's international window will likely be the final audition for the USMNT before World Cup roster selection, the harsh reality for these MLS-based national team hopefuls is that they'll have to hit the ground running once the league starts in mid-February.
In the short term, this could be a disadvantage. For those MLS players who make that World Cup roster, though, could being in midseason form -- rather than coming into the tournament off the back of a grueling European club campaign -- then become an advantage that helps the USMNT?
"I think you can take it in both kinds of ways," Freeman said. "Obviously, you would kind of want to be maybe playing a little more going into January, February ... but also it just gives you time to perfect what you need to do."
"I don't know. It's a World Cup, everyone's going to be the cream of the crop," added Schulte about the possibility of a midseason gain. "We might be a little more fresh and not have as many games on our legs, but I think at that point in life, with the adrenaline and everything, it's not going to matter too much."
For Seattle Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan, a 30-year-old veteran who has been one of the latest surprising X factors for the national team, there's no denying the impact that MLS players could have.
"European players will be pretty much done with all their games ... so that is a very difficult place [for them] to be in," he told media over the winter. "You're going to have to rely on your entire squad, and there is an advantage for us [in MLS] to be able to come in fresh leading into the World Cup, taking full advantage of the offseason now and then ramping up slowly ... right when summer hits, you're halfway through the season and you're in a good spot."
If you ask Arfsten, it's a case-by-case basis, but it probably wouldn't shock him if someone from MLS garnered an extra edge -- however slight -- at the World Cup.
"It's specific to the player. I mean, it just depends on what kind of form you're in," said the Columbus player. "But I think in terms of mental freshness, yeah, there's going to be more freshness from us guys."
Perhaps the guy who pushes the USMNT forward on the global stage this summer is someone who was playing at your local park last week.
