The USMNT's 2026 core will be in its 30s in 2030. Pochettino names the next group Thursday.
Mauricio Pochettino names his first USMNT roster of the 2030 cycle on Thursday, and most of the team that hosted the 2026 World Cup will be in its thirties by then.
Mauricio Pochettino names his first USMNT roster of the 2030 World Cup cycle on Thursday, and he is picking it for a tournament four years away. The squad will be "a mix" of World Cup veterans, 2026 omissions and teenagers, drawn from a pool his staff is tracking at around 100 players. 1
He signed up for it on 3 August, a month after the USA's home World Cup ended with a 4-1 Round of 16 defeat by Belgium in Seattle. The run before that set a few American firsts: top of Group D, a first four-goal World Cup match in the Paraguay opener, multiple group wins for the first time since 1930, and a first knockout victory since 2002 against Bosnia-Herzegovina. 23
The 2026 core has one cycle left
Most of the players who carried that run will be in their thirties on 1 June 2030. Tyler Adams will be 31, Weston McKennie 31, Christian Pulisic 31 and Antonee Robinson 32; Chris Richards and Tim Weah will be 30. 1 Two positions are open now. Matt Turner will be 35 and has already lost the starting job in goal to Matt Freese, remembered for the costliest error in modern U.S. World Cup history; at centre-back it is Richards and then a question mark. 1
The teenagers are the point
Pochettino took one outfield player under 23 to the 2026 World Cup, Alex Freeman. The average team at that tournament carried three or more. 1 The group behind him is younger. Cavan Sullivan, 16, scored twice and made another goal in Philadelphia's 5-0 win over San Diego on Sunday, taking him to five goals and six assists in seven MLS games. 4 Around him sit Mathis Albert, 16, at Borussia Dortmund, Adri Mehmeti, 17, at the New York Red Bulls, Peyton Miller, 18, at the New England Revolution and Zavier Gozo, 19, at Crystal Palace. 5
Four games to start from
The United States plays for the first time since the World Cup on 26 September, against Peru in Orlando, then Chile in St. Louis on 29 September, Mexico in Glendale, Arizona on 3 October and Canada in St. Paul on 6 October. 6
Quote of the Day
Four years is enough time to find a goalkeeper, settle a partner for Chris Richards, and build an attack that stops depending on Christian Pulisic. It is also enough time for a 16-year-old to become the answer.
References
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