USA World Cup 2026: Poch picks raise eyebrows as Pulisic desperately searches for form

As one of three home nations at this year's World Cup, hopes were high in the USA that this could be a strong tournament for the Stars and Stripes, but with just a few weeks until it all kicks off, is there still confidence that Mauricio Pochettino's men can go far?

Below are my USA World Cup 2026 predictions, including an assessment of their squad and chances of winning the competition.

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

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

Midfielders: Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Weston McKennie (Juventus), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Gio Reyna (Borussia Monchengladbach), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen), Tim Weah (Marseille), Alejandro Zendejas (Club America).

Forwards: Folarin Balogun (Monaco), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven), Haji Wright (Coventry City).

Pochettino made some controversial squad picks, leaving out midfielders Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyonnais) and Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough), as well as Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna, who had earned the second-most minutes of any attacking player over the course of the Argentine's tenure, with the likes of Alejandro Zendejas and Cristian Roldan preferred.

Still, there is plenty of talent on board, notably Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Chris Richards and Folarin Balogun, although Richards, arguably the USMNT's strongest defender, is carrying fitness concerns.

World Cup Odds

The USA qualified automatically for the World Cup as a host nation, so for the last couple of years, they've mainly played friendlies, although there was last year's run to the Gold Cup final, where they lost 2-1 to Mexico in Houston, Texas.

Results under Pochettino have been mixed, especially over the past nine months, with three consecutive victories over Australia (2-1), Paraguay (2-1) and Uruguay (5-1) to finish off 2025 followed by back-to-back defeats earlier this year by Portugal (0-2) and Belgium (0-5).

Group D Fixtures:

12 June 6pm local (13 June 2am BST) - vs Paraguay (Inglewood)

19 June 12pm local (8pm BST) - vs Australia (Seattle)

25 June 7pm local (26 June 3am BST) - vs Turkey (Inglewood)

Player to watch: Christian Pulisic

'Captain America' has struggled for an ailing AC Milan side this calendar year, failing to score and registering just two assists in 2026, so this Saturday's game with Germany, after scoring against Senegal last weekend, could prove crucial to helping him gain some rhythm and confidence ahead of the World Cup.

The 27-year-old has a solid goalscoring record for his country, netting 33 times in 85 senior caps, and there are great expectations on his shoulders.

Football Odds

Prediction: Last 16

Group D looks wide open, with the USA, Turkey, Australia and Paraguay - particularly the first three - all capable of winning it or advancing in second/third place.

I'm backing the Stars and Stripes to reach the knockout stage, but from there, things will get a lot trickier.

The Group D winners will face a third-place finisher from either Group B, E, F, I, or J at San Francisco Bay Arena Stadium, while the runners-up will take on the the Group G runners-up in Dallas. Should the third-placed team in the section qualify as one of the eight best, they will meet either the Group E, Group K or Group I winners in Boston, Kansas City or New York New Jersey.

It's all rather complicated, so I'll just say last 16 is as far as they will go, with a round-of-32 exit also possible.