USMNT returns: Key takeaways from one of the team's final rosters before the World Cup

Injured superstars are in a tough position

There are four glaring omissions from this roster, and they're all absent due to injury: defender Sergino Dest, midfielder Tyler Adams and attackers Haji Wright and Diego Luna.

All three are widely expected to make Pochettino's final World Cup cut, but missing these two March friendlies puts them in a more difficult position to do so. It's especially tough for Luna, who officially returned to play just days before this roster was announced. He probably could've been ready to contribute for the USMNT, but Pochettino erred on the side of caution to keep him healthy. He, along with Dest, Adams and Wright, will have to prove himself to Pochettino through league play instead.

Minutes matter ... unless you're one of Mauricio Pochettino's game-changers

Pochettino has been unequivocal about his desire for his USMNT players to actually play. He doesn't care if they're at the biggest clubs in the world; if they're not getting regular minutes, they'll be dropped in favor of their peers.

This roster shows that Pochettino is willing to bend that rule for players he truly believes in. He called up defender Alex Freeman and attacker Gio Reyna on the basis of their previous USMNT performances, not their current club form. Freeman has played just 38 minutes since joining Spanish side Villarreal in December, while Reyna has played just 26 minutes for German side Borussia Monchengladbach this year.

Those figures are sobering, but Freeman scored two goals and took home the Man of the Match Award in his last appearance in a USMNT shirt. Reyna, meanwhile, scored just four minutes into his USMNT return against Paraguay in November. They've proved to Pochettino that they've got the game-time goods, and they've blocked their more active peers — John Tolkin and Alex Zendejas, respectively — from the roster because of it.

Antonee "Jedi" Robinson returns

Left back Jedi Robinson is arguably the USMNT's best player, but we haven't seen him put in a shift for the team in a long, long time. He spent much of 2025 struggling with a recurring knee injury and missed every single one of the USMNT's games that year.

His addition to this roster is telling. He's been getting more and more minutes with his club team, Fulham, and he seems to be on the mend. Robinson brings a different skill set than his 2025 backfill, Max Arfsten, does — he's a better "two-way" player and performs with a bit more defensive grit — and it will be fascinating to see how that impacts the USMNT's formation and approach. Will Pochettino lean into Robinson's defensive rigidity by playing a more attacking right back like, say, Tim Weah?

The midfield battle is where it's at

Everyone on this roster is fighting for their spot at the World Cup, but the fight is fiercest in the center of the park.

In one corner is returning prodigy Johnny Cardoso, a regular starter for Atletico Madrid. He's got the pedigree, the experience and the bone-breaking physicality to make a difference for the team, but he's never put in a truly special performance for the USMNT, and he missed much of 2025 with an injury.

In the other, current and former MLS stalwarts Cristian Roldan, Sebastian Berhalter and Aidan Morris. They stepped up in a big way in Cardoso's absence, and each delivered at least one definitional USMNT performance in 2025. Cardoso may beat them on pedigree and potential, but he hasn't beaten them on the field, and they'll be hungry to keep it that way.

Hovering around the ring is beloved veteran Tyler Adams, who should be a lock for this team, provided he returns to full fitness in time for the World Cup.

They can't all make it. Will Cardoso use these March friendlies to finally stake his claim on the USMNT midfield? Or will the hardworking trio of Roldan, Berhalter and Morris keep him off the World Cup roster altogether?

The USMNT will take on Belgium on Saturday, March 28, in Atlanta, Ga.