On Tuesday, the U.S. Men’s National Team has a gigantic event planned around the reveal of the 26-man roster that will play in the upcoming World Cup in three weeks.
Sounds exciting, right?
Well, that anticipation might be toned down a smidge (or completely) following a leak of the entire team days before the landmark event.
While names had already begun circulating on Friday, with notable names like Diego Luna seemingly out of contention for the roster, The Guardian swung down the hammer on Saturday by revealing each of the 26 players that will represent the United States at home in the group stage against Paraguay, Australia, and Turkey.
Along with the locks like Christian Pulisic and Folarin Balogun, some surprise names who were seen as long shots made the squad, including Alejandro Zendejas, who has had a resurgence in his career the past two seasons in Mexico with Club América.
The biggest absence for me is Tanner Tessmann, the 24-year-old midfielder who plays professionally in France for Olympique Lyonnais. A technical passer and all-around workhorse, he felt as if he would be needed with an overall thin midfield group, but a muscle strain that ended his professional season early might have been the main reason for his denial.
Here is the full 26-man roster representing the U.S. this coming summer, per The Guardian.
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Goalkeepers (3): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Matt Freese (New York City), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)
Defenders (10): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Sergiño Dest (PSV), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Auston Trusty (Celtic)
Midfielders (4): Tyler Adams (AFC Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)
Attacking midfielders/wingers (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América)
Strikers (3): Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Haji Wright (Coventry City)
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