What to know about Team USA, the USMNT, in this summer’s 2026 FIFA World Cup

Can this U.S. men’s soccer team make it deeper into the tournament than ever before?

After years of hoping, planning and executing, the 2026 FIFA World Cup is finally here. And the United States Men’s National Team is hoping to make a deep run as co-hosts of this edition of the event across North America.

The USMNT’s first group-stage match kicks off at 8 p.m. Central Time Friday night. What are the expectations? Who are the key players to watch? Here’s a comprehensive guide for this summer:

Key players for the U.S.

This USMNT roster is among its most talented ever. There are more players playing in the top five European leagues than ever before. But some are more important than others.

These three matter the most: Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams and Chris Richards.

For the Americans, Pulisic has been the name above all others for years. He’s played in the major matches with some of the biggest clubs in the world. He’s by far the USMNT’s best player. At his best, he can change the outcome of games. At his worst, the U.S. ceiling becomes much lower.

Adams is a key cog in the midfield, and due to the way the USMNT will play, he will need to be everywhere. He was one of the USMNT’s best players in the 2022 World Cup, and he most certainly will be again.

Richards is a new face for fans tuning in for the first time since the last World Cup. Widely regarded as the USMNT’s best defender, he is coming off two career seasons with Crystal Palace in the English Premier League, where that smaller club won the FA Cup (2025) and the European Conference League (2026).

USMNT in World Cups: The history

The United States has never won a World Cup. Our nation’s best finish was a top-four at the very first World Cup in 1930.

Back then, however, getting to the semifinals did not require wins beyond the group stage. So the American side’s only win in a knockout round remains a 2-0 win over Mexico in the Round of 16 in 2002.

The USMNT has made the Round of 16 in each of its last three World Cup appearances (2010, 2014, 2022), as well as 1994, when it last hosted the World Cup. The USMNT failed to reach the knockout stage in 1950, 1990, 1998, and 2006. Its all-time record in 37 World Cup matches is 9 wins, 8 draws, and 20 losses.

Meet the USMNT coach + roster

Coach Mauricio Pochettino is in charge of the USMNT for the 2026 World Cup.

Despite boasting a high-level pedigree at the club level, this is his first time coaching a national team in the World Cup.

Here are the 26 players on the USMNT roster:

Goalkeeprs: Matt Turner, Matt Freese, Chris Brady

Defenders: Max Arfsten, Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Miles Robinson, Joe Scally, Auston Trusty

Midfielders: Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Weston McKennie, Gio Reyna, Cristian Roldan, Malik Tillman

Forwards: Brenden Aaronson, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Christian Pulisic, Tim Weah, Haji Wright, Alejandro Zendajas.

USMNT’s formation and style of play

Pochettino likes to play with a 3-4-2-1 ... and that was the formation for the USMNT in recent friendly matches against Germany and Senegal — with a fair bit of success.

The formation is characterized mostly by its three central defenders and two wingbacks. Sergiño Dest and Antonee Robinson will have the license to get much further forward into the attack, split right and left of the three centerbacks, respectively.

They will look to combine with the “two” in that formation in what’s called the “half space,” which is the space between the direct middle of the field and the sideline. Those two players on either side will look to link up with the lone striker to finish off attacks.

In this style, the two midfielders need to be very active while maintaining positional discipline for the sake of the defense. That pairing will likely be Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, but it could change depending upon the opponent.

Don’t be surprised if the formation of the USMNT looks more like a 4-4-2 when the team doesn’t have the ball. It is common for the starting formation to be fluid depending on the score, time, possessio, and what the team might need to focus on during certain periods of the match.

USMNT’s group-stage schedule

The USMNT is in Group D with Paraguay, Australia, and Turkiye. The group schedule is as follows:

• Friday, June 12: USA vs. Paraguay — 8 p.m., Los Angeles
• June 19: USA vs. Australia — noon, Seattle
• June 25: USA vs. Turkiye — 7 p.m., Los Angeles

To advance to the knockout stage, the USMNT has to win at least one match and pick up another point in a draw somewhere. While the above countries aren’t traditional powerhouses, each match will pose a very different yet difficult task.

Expanded knockout round

With an expanded knockout stage to 32 teams, it’s likely that the USMNT would make the Round of 32 by finishing third. Finishing first would likely help the USMNT avoid one of the powerhouses in the knockouts early.

Finishing second wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as the second-place finisher in Group D plays another second-place finisher in the Round of 32 — in a group that features Iran, Egypt, Belgium and New Zealand, Belgium will likely finish first.

Finishing third is the worst-case scenario, as that could potentially pit the USMNT against Spain, France or Portugal in the Round of 32.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.