Pochettino Names His Team

Mauricio Pochettino confirmed the USA's World Cup squad on May 26 and the message from the Argentine manager was clear: this is a team built to compete, not to participate. His time at Tottenham, PSG, and Chelsea showed he can organize elite players and extract performances in knockout football. The USMNT, for the first time in its history, has enough quality for that approach to be credible.

Christian Pulisic is the team's best player and the number one option in attack. Gio Reyna, when fit and trusted, is the creative wildcard who elevates the team's ceiling. Yunus Musah and Tyler Adams provide the midfield engine. Folarin Balogun leads the line. The squad is young, mostly Premier League and top European league based, and plays on home soil for the first time since 1994.

June 12 — The Second Match of the Tournament

The USA's opening match against Paraguay in Dallas on June 12 is the second game of the entire 2026 World Cup — the day after the opening ceremony in Mexico City. The whole country will be watching. Every bar in New York will be showing it. The Hudson Yards Big Screen and the official fan zones will be at capacity. This is the sporting event of the American summer.

Paraguay are a dangerous CONMEBOL opponent — organized, physical, and capable of the kind of upset that defines World Cup group stages. Pochettino's team needs to handle the pressure of playing at home, in front of a nation that has waited decades for a World Cup performance worth remembering.

What NYC Needs to Know

None of the USA's group stage matches are at MetLife — they play in Dallas and other US venues. But New York will be at maximum volume for every match regardless. The borough fan zones, Hudson Yards Big Screen, and every bar in the city will show USA matches as the most-watched fixtures of the group stage for American audiences. Register now at nynjfwc26.com for the fan zones — USA match days will sell out registration faster than any other game.

If the USA advances through the group and into the knockout rounds — which is realistic in a favorable Group D draw — the bracket could potentially bring them to MetLife for a quarterfinal or beyond. That scenario, the USMNT playing a World Cup quarterfinal at MetLife Stadium in front of New York City, would be the greatest soccer moment in American sports history.