Soccer <\/p>\n
NEW YORK \u2013 For the 26 players who made the cut, the call of a lifetime arrived at precisely 1 pm ET on Friday afternoon.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Well, technically speaking, it was a WhatsApp group message, sent by Sam Zapatka, the team manager of the US men\u2019s national team<\/a>, who created the new group, then delivered to its members a video in which head coach Mauricio Pochettino informed them they had been selected<\/a> for the Yanks\u2019 2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a> roster.<\/p>\n Inevitably, it hit different players in different ways. It was less of a shock for some of the program\u2019s stars, and more like a thunderbolt for those on the bubble, an explosive update to share with loved ones as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n \u201cMy brother, my sister, my brother-in-law, my girlfriend \u2013 everyone, man; their families. Just a great moment,\u201d Club Am\u00e9rica standout and FC Dallas<\/a> product Alejandro Zendejas revealed after the USMNT\u2019s official unveiling event at Pier 17 on the lower Manhattan waterfront on Tuesday.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I saw my parents, we all started crying.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 U.S. Soccer Men’s National Team (@USMNT) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n The fulfillment of a childhood dream is not the kind of news one really gets accustomed to.<\/p>\n \u201cI was actually leaving the training ground, walking to my car with a box full of bobbleheads to take home to my kids, and my WhatsApp started to go a little bit crazy with the video that got put in,\u201d explained Charlotte FC<\/a> defender Tim Ream<\/a>, a late-breaking inclusion in 2022\u2019s squad who\u2019s now defied the odds to make it again at age 38.<\/p>\n \u201cIt made me stop in my tracks, to be completely honest.\u201d<\/p>\n Vancouver Whitecaps FC<\/a> midfielder Sebastian Berhalter<\/a>\u2019s mind traced back to the last World Cup, which he attended as a fan supporting his father Gregg, then in charge of the USMNT and now leading Chicago Fire FC<\/a>. A fairly obscure utility player at the time, Sebastian had just finished his first season with Vancouver, his third club in as many years, his own international ambitions deeply submerged, but alive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s just \u2013 it’s like the American dream, you know?\u201d Berhalter told reporters on Tuesday. \u201cI was in the stands watching the games in Qatar. People would have thought you were crazy if you said that this kid could be on the team four years later.<\/p>\n \u201cI brought home a mini World Cup trophy, and I told myself that I’m going to be there in 2026. That was a goal I had, and people would have thought I was crazy. That’s how I’ve been my whole life. I always believed. And if you don’t believe, no one else is going to believe.\u201d<\/p>\n It\u2019s the second World Cup call for Antonee \u2018Jedi\u2019 Robinson, though this one carried more emotional weight after the litany of injury woes that have sidetracked him in recent years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt feels like all the effort, the kind of sacrificing, going through the pain of what I’ve been through, it makes it all worth it,\u201d said the Fulham FC left back. \u201cThere were plenty of times where I didn’t feel like I was seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n Amid such raw emotions for those who did<\/em> make the squad, those present at Pier 17 were hesitant to delve into the experiences of those who didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Pochettino declined to discuss the specific circumstances of prominent snubs like Real Salt Lake<\/a> star Diego Luna<\/a>, Tanner Tessmann and Aidan Morris, asking fans and media to trust that he and his staff have worked relentlessly to reach this point since he took the job in September 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cWe cannot talk about the players that are not in the roster, because it\u2019s very disrespectful to the players that made the roster,\u201d said the Argentine. \u201cIf you listen to what I say from the beginning, we were working really hard during one year and a half or more, trying to arrive in this moment in the best condition, with all the information to try to make the best decision. It\u2019s impossible to be fair with everyone, but I think to make the decision, to be competitive in the end and try to win.<\/p>\n \u201cWe really believe that squad, these 26 players, are the right players. If they are the right players, are the best players.\u201d<\/p>\n As Pochettino pointed out, the former Argentina international knows these feelings as intimately as anyone can. In his own playing days, he narrowly missed out on his country\u2019s World Cup rosters in 1994 and 1998 before \u201cfinally,\u201d in his words, earning the call from Marcelo Bielsa in 2002.<\/p>\n That, rather than coldness or disinterest, informed his choice to notify those who missed out via email and not a phone or video call.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand the players that didn’t make the roster; they don’t want to hear me say, ‘Oh, I apologize, oh\u2026’\u201d he said. \u201cI care. Do you know why I care? Because during two weeks, I didn’t sleep. And today, still I cannot enjoy the 26 guys that are in front of me, because I am thinking of players that are out.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is about to care \u2013 it\u2019s not to call. Because if I call, it\u2019s about myself. I say, \u2018Oh, I call, I am very human about calling and then giving an explanation.\u2019 Come on. That is bulls–t. Sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 26, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n There\u2019s precious little time to reflect.<\/p>\n After Tuesday\u2019s pageantry, which included a breathless live television broadcast on FOX, a rooftop crowd of hundreds of supporters and a surprise performance from rapper Gunna, the Yanks flew immediately to Atlanta to begin their final preparations at the brand-new National Training Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n Warm-up friendlies vs. Senegal on May 31 (at Charlotte FC<\/a>\u2019s Bank of America Stadium) and Germany on June 6 (at Chicago\u2019s Soldier Field) are the last chance to build rhythm and iron out the kinks before their tournament kicks off vs. Paraguay in Southern California on June 12. The players know just how high the stakes are.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,\u201d said FC Cincinnati<\/a>\u2019s Miles Robinson<\/a>, who missed out on Qatar \u201822 due to a ruptured Achilles tendon in MLS play a few months prior.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s going to be, I think, how a lot of these players will be remembered for the rest of their lives, almost. So it’s a big moment. It’s about taking advantage of it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \n Answering the call<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Painful decisions<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
The final stretch<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n