Predicting anything in sports is often a fool's errand, especially when looking nearly 2 years on the horizon. Here we are, though, with a first attempt to project how the U.S. men's national team's 2026 World Cup squad could come together, especially after a disappointing Copa America run that few could have predicted.
It's an exercise we did after the team's elimination from the 2022 World Cup, and who could have imagined what would follow? Coach Gregg Berhalter's contract expired, chaos ensued, he was then rehired and now, after this summer's shocker, it seems his time may be up. Since that World Cup, seemingly every member of the USMNT's starting XI has changed clubs. In December 2022, Folarin Balogun was still playing for England, for example, and now he's one of the U.S. team's most important players.
The point is this: things change, and they can change quickly. It's largely expected that this group of players will still resemble the current squad by the time 2026 rolls around, but there's certainly room for change. The Copa America showed that, to say the least.
So what will this team look like when the World Cup kicks off in June of 2026, in the U.S., Mexico and Canada? How will the USMNT line up? GOAL takes a look.