EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsIn his 20 months in charge of the U.S. men's national team, Mauricio Pochettino has won 15 matches, lost 10 and tied one. He has taken a look at 67 different players and whittled that down to a 26-man squad. He has overseen a pair of inspiring performances over the past 10 days, a 3-2 win over Senegal and a 2-1 defeat to Germany. And now, on Friday, he takes the USMNT into the FIFA World Cup.It's a moment that really has no parallel in program history. Sure, the U.S. has hosted this tournament before, and the 1994 edition was a magical, transformative moment for the game in this country, but that team was playing with house money."Not getting embarrassed" was the goal 32 years ago. But now? With a manager as recognizable as Pochettino, with players scattered across Europe's most storied clubs, the bar is set significantly higher.- 2026 FIFA World Cup: All fixtures, results and features- World Cup Rank: The tournament's top 50 players- Final World Cup Power Rankings: Who are the favorites?Is this team ready for that? Just what is the ceiling for this group? To answer those questions and more, ESPN turned to those who've been covering the USMNT throughout this World Cup cycle and will continue spending every day of this tournament following the team: Jeff Carlisle, Herculez Gomez, Sam Borden, Cesar Hernandez and Ryan Clark.Did Pochettino get his squad selection right?Carlisle: I think he got things right for the most part. Injuries meant he could avoid some prickly questions, such as Patrick Agyemang vs. Haji Wright at center forward. The heart of the team's defense looks a bit suspect, but I think Pochettino picked the best options available.I, for one, wasn't surprised by the exclusion of Diego Luna. He's a talented player, but I think the other options in attack are a shade more proven. A player like Alejandro Zendejas is 100% deserving of his spot.Gomez: Essentially yes, given it's been 20 months since Pochettino took over, finally we see something that resembles a starting XI. You have to imagine that if Chris Richards is healthy, Miles Robinson is out and Richards is in the middle and finally you have the potential starting XI that we want to see against Paraguay. Yes, he got it right, but it took 20 long months to get here, and that is concerning.Borden: On balance, yes. All the most meaningful pieces are here, although I suppose that's the easy part. Taking Gio Reyna was the right decision, in my opinion -- his talent is undeniable. Leaving off Tanner Tessmann was a surprise to me, as he impressed at the Paris Olympics and only continued to rise after that. If there's a weak point here, it's definitely in midfield depth. If anyone picks up an injury or yellow-card suspension, it could be glaring, and that seemed avoidable.Hernandez: I'm sure I won't be the only person bringing up the midfield. I get wanting to have a more forward-thinking option next to Tyler Adams for a group stage that will need you to break down some defensive opponents, but I don't see this as a recipe for success for a deep run in the knockout stages.Clark: Maybe? Some options were taken away because of how many players are injured. That's not to say there aren't questions about who didn't make the final roster. Luna and Tessmann stand out the most, especially with Tessmann playing an important role for a Lyon side that finished fourth in Ligue 1.Where does this team look most vulnerable?Gomez: In the transition phase, when they lose the ball. This is a team that commits a lot of numbers going forward, and when you do that and lose that ball, you leave vulnerable a lot of players at the back in one-on-one positions. That's when mistakes happen.Borden: Beyond that midfield question, the concern with the U.S. is always around scoring. Folarin Balogun is as good a striker option as the Americans have had and is coming off a productive season (19 goals, four assists for AS Monaco), but the historic question hanging over the American team -- can they score enough? -- is hard to shake. Add in Christian Pulisic's months-long goal drought that finally ended against Senegal, and offense is something that any American fan will always have on their mind.Hernandez: Related to the previous question, I think this team is one injury/red card away from a crisis if Adams is unavailable. Pochettino has noted that there are plenty of options who could play in that central midfield role, but there isn't someone who can do it at the same level as Adams. Not enough defensive midfield coverage.Clark: Defense, with the notion that it's not so much for the structure, but the personnel. It wasn't like the German team the U.S. faced in the final warmup game is one of the strongest German sides we've seen entering a World Cup. Couple that with the performance they had against Senegal, and it left Antonee Robinson as the U.S.'s most consistent performer at the back.Carlisle: The one nit I have with Pochettino's selections is bringing in a fifth outside back in Joe Scally and not another central midfielder such as Aidan Morris. Adams has a history of picking up injuries. Yellow cards are likely to be a factor as well, especially in a part of the field where physicality will be required.Pochettino looks like he has settled on having more of a playmaker type, such as Malik Tillman, alongside Adams than a destroyer, such as Cristian Roldan. We'll see if the U.S. pays for not having more steel in the middle.How heavily will the distraction of Pochettino's future weigh on the team?Borden: The short answer: not much. I don't think it's a terrific look from an optics standpoint, but this is professional sports and however much we bang the drum about team and family, everyone is always looking out for themselves. The players are trying to win World Cup games; where their coach goes after it's over isn't going to be front of mind for them in any meaningful way.Hernandez: I'm going to file this under "big deal for fans and media, but not much of a thought for the players." Maybe they know something otherwise, but all signs from the outside pointed to Pochettino heading out after the World Cup. The latest reporting is not much of a shock.Clark: Probably not at all. Appointing Pochettino always seemed like one of those moves that was going to last until it wasn't. That's what makes his future with the USMNT discussion fodder at this stage. Besides, we're in the silly season, when managers and players are always rumored to head elsewhere.Carlisle: I don't think it will have much of a bearing on how the team performs. These players are used to having coaches come and go. That's just the nature of the beast of being a professional soccer player. This is especially true for the guys in Europe, but coaches are fired with increasing regularity even in MLS. I think it's a fairly professional group as well, able to tune out the noise that comes around transfers or coaches moving.Gomez: I don't think it's going to weigh on this team at all. I think everybody here knew Pochettino was here for what was left of this World Cup cycle and then would most likely leave. It was for this World Cup only. So the fact that he has potential suitors I don't think in any way, shape or form is on the minds of the players.Who is the player you think will surprise everyone (in a good way) this summer?Hernandez: Reyna will have something to prove this summer. He obviously hasn't lived up to his once-lofty expectations, but he has enough talent to have a game-changing moment or two off the bench. We'll see how much of an opportunity Pochettino gives him.Clark: It could be Sergio Dest. This World Cup offers him a chance to display a level of versatility that might be crucial. He has shown that he can get into dangerous positions in attack while getting back to help when the U.S. needs to press. Some club is going to see that and present an offer to PSV Eindhoven for his services.Carlisle: I think Dest and Zendejas are the attacking wild cards in the group who could do some real damage. Dest showed how effective he can be on the wing against Senegal. He has always been capable of delivering the unexpected, and playing further upfield plays to his strengths while lessening his defensive responsibilities.Zendejas is another player I think will surprise people. The spectacular goal he scored last September against Japan was a glimpse of what he can do. I just hope he gets the chance in this tournament to show off his skill.Gomez: Weston McKennie has to be that player; he is the one player on this team who has true star power. He is a star player on the field, for the goals he can score and the plays he can make, and also off the field for how charismatic he can be.There are millions and millions of casual soccer fans who don't know who McKennie is -- if he has a big World Cup, they're going to find out.Borden: If I can borrow a hockey clich, the U.S. is going to need a hot goalkeeper to make the kind of run that it's hoping to achieve this summer. For that reason, I'll go with Matt Freese as the most likely -- and needed -- player to surprise. Freese isn't playing in Europe, the way Tim Howard and Matt Turner did going into their World Cups with the U.S., but his ability is legitimate. Can he do it on the biggest stage? If he can, it'll give the U.S. a great chance to go deep.How far will the U.S. go in this World Cup?Clark: Reaching the round of 16 seems like a realistic destination. Beyond that is when it gets complicated because of what has happened since March. How the U.S. performed against Belgium, Portugal and Germany -- all games it lost -- means it would need a significant turnaround to go beyond the last 16.Carlisle: I still think the round of 16 is where this team will exit. The U.S. is likely to play Belgium in that round if form holds, and we all saw what happened when the teams met in March. Yes, that was a friendly, but I can't think of anyone on the U.S. roster who can stop Jrmy Doku. That's not to say the U.S. has no chance. The team is playing at home after all, and can certainly ride the support of the crowd. The Americans are also going to need some good fortune to progress.Gomez: The USMNT is going to go as far as the draw will take it. If it ends up as a first-place team in this group, the road into the knockout rounds is easy. Second place? A bit harder. Third place? It will be scrambling. But all roads eventually lead the U.S. to the round of 16.Borden: The "good" draw that the U.S. supposedly got in this tournament cuts both ways; no juggernaut dominates the group, but there are no minnows, either, which raises the possibility for all types of outcomes. I tend to be optimistic here: I think the U.S. wins the group (beating Paraguay and Australia, losing to Trkiye), and gets one step farther than Qatar before bowing out in the quarterfinals.Hernandez: An exit in the round of 16 seems like the right balance of not being a letdown but also not being a massive step forward either. Assuming the U.S. tops its group or finishes in second, a possible loss to Belgium or Argentina appears to be the expected outcome in the round of 16.
