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With fewer than three weeks remaining before U.S. men's national team head coach Mauricio Pochettino finalizes his World Cup selections, a number of players fighting for spots are likely wondering: 'Where has the time gone? Have I done enough to make the cut?'
The U.S. is scheduled to unveil its official 2026 FIFA World Cup squad on May 26 in New York City, marking the team's first-ever live roster announcement. By that point, Pochettino will have trimmed his options down to the 26 most deserving players.
That group will have a brief opportunity to gel during late preparatory friendlies against Senegal and Germany at the end of the month in Charlotte and Chicago, before heading west to Los Angeles to begin World Cup action in Group D against Paraguay on June 12.
Pochettino's assessment of who deserves inclusion likely shifts daily, with each round of club fixtures casting new light on both familiar and emerging players.
Here's our stock up, stock down breakdown for the USMNT this week.
USMNT Stock Up
Sergiño Dest
After eight weeks on the injury list, Sergiño Dest made his highly anticipated return to action, putting in 30 minutes in midfield during PSV Eindhoven's 2–2 draw with Ajax Amsterdam.
The talented fullback sustained a hamstring injury on March 7 in an Eredivisie fixture against AZ Alkmaar, being helped off the pitch in the second half while clutching his left hamstring. Dest was determined to recover in time to contribute to PSV's strong campaign in the Dutch top flight and rebuild his fitness ahead of this summer's World Cup.
"The first couple weeks [of injury], I did two sessions a day [of recovery]," Dest said two weeks ago. "I said to myself, 'Hey, I want to be there at the World Cup, so I have to do everything in my power to be able to come back ASAP.'"
The 25-year-old, despite operating outside his usual starting right back role, put in an encouraging performance, controlling the right side of the field with sharp passing and incisive balls into the attacking third. It must have been a reassuring display for Pochettino, as USMNT striker Ricardo Pepi also shone, opening PSV's scoring just 30 seconds in with a powerful header for his 17th goal of the season.
While Pepi will likely fill a substitute role this summer, Dest could mount a genuine challenge for a starting position. He was a vital figure for the USMNT at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, starting all four matches at right back, and if he can fully regain his fitness, he could reprise that role.
Christian Pulisic
Christian Pulisic may not be finding the net in real matches, but he is on television, and perhaps that kind of visualization is exactly what the USMNT forward needs to rediscover his scoring touch.
The AC Milan star is enduring a 17-game scoreless run—the longest of his career—stretching back to last December at club level and November 2024 for the national team. Despite this, FOX Sports, the official U.S. broadcaster for this summer's World Cup, selected him as the centerpiece of their new promotional campaign.
The advertisement depicts the USMNT competing in the 2026 World Cup final against Brazil. It begins with Pulisic preparing to take a corner kick in the dying moments of stoppage time, with the score level at 2–2. Fans across the country dressed in red, white and blue are shown watching anxiously, hoping for one final chance to claim global glory.
Pulisic then delivers the extraordinary. His dramatic corner kick—shown in slow motion and accompanied by Elvis Presley's stirring ballad The Impossible Dream—bends directly into the net, a rare goal known as an Olimpico, winning the World Cup and sending American supporters into an ecstatic wave of celebration and tears.
While the campaign is intentionally over-the-top—designed to build excitement for the tournament and remind fans that anything is possible, even a fairytale run for the U.S.—it nonetheless casts Pulisic as the hero, perhaps serving as a timely reminder to "Captain America" himself of what he is capable of, despite his recent dry spell.
USMNT Stock Down
Johnny Cardoso
Johnny Cardoso was not only recently dismissed by two former USMNT legends, Tim Howard and Landon Donovan, potentially damaging his standing in Pochettino's eyes, but he also suffered a serious high-grade ankle sprain on Thursday during Atlético Madrid's training session, leaving the midfielder's availability uncertain.
"He will undergo physiotherapy and rehabilitation sessions in the gym, and the progress of his recovery will determine his return to competition," the club announced.
With only four La Liga matches remaining for Los Rojiblancos, the 24-year-old is unlikely to feature again at club level this season given the severity of his injury, and his readiness for the World Cup—which begins in just five weeks—is also in serious doubt.
This represents a significant blow for both the U.S. and Atlético, where he played a key role in their impressive run to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. He featured in the second leg of that semifinal, logging over 30 minutes in the painful 1–0 defeat to Arsenal on Tuesday, which ended their European campaign 2–1 on aggregate.
Despite his recent appearances on European football's biggest stage—and now compounded by his injury—Howard and Donovan do not believe he merits a place in Pochettino's final squad.
"I think the Johnny Cardoso thing is going to be a challenge for people," Donovan said on the Unfiltered Soccer podcast earlier this week. "They're like, 'Oh, he plays at Atlético Madrid.' He's just not done it for the national team. Last time he played [at the March camp], he played a half [against Belgium] and then he left camp [due to injury].
"I can see a scenario in which Pochettino brings him because he has 26 players, and clearly [Cardoso] has quality, but I don't know. It goes back to the question I said before, 'Is it your best 26 players or your best group of 26?' And guys like [Sebastian] Berhalter and [Cristian] Roldan, I think just make the group better even if they don't touch the field."
Cardoso has earned 23 caps at senior level since his debut in 2020, having dealt with multiple injury setbacks throughout that period.
Patrick Schulte
Columbus Crew's Patrick Schulte is making a late push to convince Pochettino he should be the third-choice goalkeeper this summer ahead of Chicago Fire's Chris Brady and FC Cincinnati's Roman Celentano, with New York City's Matt Freese and New England Revolution's Matt Turner widely considered the top two options.
Schulte, however, did little to strengthen his case over the weekend, turning in an unconvincing display on Saturday as Columbus fell 3–2 to Minnesota United. The Crew were comfortably ahead 2–0 approaching the hour mark before the Loons struck three times in just 15 minutes. While the 25-year-old was not solely to blame, he appeared poorly positioned on multiple occasions, looking reactive rather than commanding between the posts.
Brady's Chicago side also surrendered an early advantage, losing to Celentano's Cincinnati 3–2 following a penalty in the seventh minute of stoppage time; however, Brady's conceded goals seemed more attributable to the clinical finishing of Evander and the opposing attackers, rather than any technical shortcomings on his part.