The USA has announced its full 26-player squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. It’s the twelfth time the country has qualified for the FIFA World Cup. The United States, along with Canada and Mexico, is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup and has received automatic qualification for the tournament. Their best performance came 96 years ago, when the USA finished third at the inaugural 1930 FIFA World Cup.

Head coach Mauricio Pochettino announced the full squad moments ago. The captain for the World Cup will be Tim Ream. The 38-year-old Charlotte FC defender is one of the most experienced players in the squad. The team’s star player is Christian Pulisic. The 27-year-old from AC Milan is the most experienced player in the squad with 85 caps for the country and 33 goals. Other important players in the squad are Matt Turner (New England Revolution), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Brendan Aaronson (Leeds United), and Folarin Balogun (Monaco).

Full Squad USMNT For The 2026 FIFA World Cup

Goalkeepers: Matt Turner (New England Revolution), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Chris Brady (Chicago Fire)

Defenders: Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Sergino Dest (PSV), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse), Auston Trusty (Celtic), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Alex Freeman (Villarreal), Maximilian Arfsten (Columbus Crew)

Midfielders: Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Giovanni Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United)

Forwards: Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Timothy Weah (Olympique de Marseille), Ricardo Pepi (PSV), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Alejandro Zendejas (América)

Qualification For The 2026 FIFA World Cup

Leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the United States mostly played friendly matches. Since they were automatically qualified, they didn’t have to participate in any qualification to enter the tournament. They did participate in three major tournaments leading up to the 2026 FIFA World Cup. In 2023, they reached the semi-finals of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, losing to Panama in a penalty shootout. In 2024, they hosted the Copa América but failed to advance past the group stage, finishing third.

Last year, they co-hosted the CONCACAF Gold Cup with Canada, where the United States managed to reach the final. However, they suffered a narrow 1-2 defeat against rivals Mexico in Houston, Texas. The United States started the year with back-to-back losses against Portugal and Belgium, but was able to beat Senegal at home in its most recent match. The USA will host the FIFA World Cup again, 32 years after doing so for the first time.

2026 FIFA World Cup

The USA will play their matches in Group D. Team USA opens their World Cup on June 12 in Inglewood, California, where they will take on Paraguay. Seven days later, they take on Australia in Seattle, Washington. For their final group stage match, they travel back to Inglewood to take on Turkey on June 25. The two group winners and the eight best third-placed teams from each group will advance to the next stage.

The USA Schedule

• June 12 – Paraguay (9 pm EST)
• June 19 – Australia (3 pm EST)
• June 25 – Turkey (10 pm EST)