The Three Biggest Snubs From the USMNT’s 2026 World Cup Roster

The 26 are set. Under the tutelage of manager Mauricio Pochettino, the U.S. men’s national team knows its names and faces for the 2026 World Cup, as officially announced on Tuesday at a live event in New York City.

Buoyed by stars Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and Folarin Balogun, there were several members of the roster that came as no shock. Yet, the fringes of the squad surprised many, especially given the omissions of some of the most reliable players of Pochettino’s tenure thus far.

Here, Sports Illustrated takes a look at the three most glaring snubs from Pochettino’s 26-man USMNT World Cup roster.

Tanner Tessmann (Lyon)

There was once a time when a player getting regular minutes in Europe was an automatic lock for any U.S. roster. Now, that’s no longer the case, and Lyon’s Tanner Tessmann stands as a glaring omission from the squad for this summer.

Since entering the USMNT fold in 2024, the now 24-year-old has been a regular call-up for Pochettino, taking part in the last three national team camps and playing significant minutes in the March friendlies against Belgium and Portugal. If he were in the group, he likely could have started alongside Tyler Adams in the midfield.

Instead, despite his prominence in France, where he made 41 appearances for Lyons, amassing 28 starts and 2,546 minutes, Tessmann will be absent from the center of the field, potentially detrimental as the roster is light on box-to-box talents.

Pochettino opted to bring Vancouver Whitecaps’ Sebastian Berhalter and Seattle Sounders’ Cristian Roldan instead, a decision which could pay off given their more one-sided instincts, but doesn’t make the exclusion of Tessmann any less glaring.

Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake)

One of the most important players to the USMNT in 2025, Diego Luna, is one of the major snubs for Pochettino’s roster. While he’s not on the team, the Real Salt Lake midfielder will be ever-present across the tournament, with his face plastered across USMNT kit advertisements, commercial partners and as one of the 20 players included in the Panini Sticker Collection for the tournament.

While Pochettino made it clear in March that none of that marketing would matter when it came to the tournament team selection, Luna’s return to form from an early-season injury could have warranted him a spot, nonetheless.

The 22-year-old is one of the best dribblers in tight spaces and isn’t afraid to run at defenders, while offering an unrivaled passion and grit to the attacking midfield. His form has also impressed since returning to MLS action, with four goals and three assists in 608 minutes.

Yet, it’s clear he’s not in Pochettino’s mind. He played his role in one era of the USMNT in 2025, and the manager sees a different era with this team one summer later.

“It’s an interesting decision for me,” RSL manager Pablo Mastroeni said. “In 2025, the national team really leaned on him, both as an attacking player and as a mentality piece. Pochettino referenced his ability to fight, and I just think that in a [World] Cup where you need a difference maker—some guy who’s gonna come into a game where the stage will never be too big—I just thought that [Luna made sense.].”

Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough)

Aidan Morris isn’t going to the Premier League next season, after his Middlesbrough side fell to Hull City in the EFL Championship play-off final—a result which kicked off a disappointing week for the midfielder, who later learned that he wasn’t World Cup-bound either, despite a strong season in the English second tier.

While Tessmann is the most glaring midfield omission, Morris and his natural fit into the team is right up there. The former Columbus Crew midfielder had been a regular player under Pochettino over the past year and had played high-stakes games all season with a demanding club that doesn’t shy away from the spotlight.

In a vacuum, Morris’ exclusion isn’t super shocking; however, it’s the fact that the 31-year-old Roldan, who has not been in top form with the Sounders this season, was selected over a younger, similar option that thrived in MLS and then made the move to Europe.

With all snubs being central midfielders, the USMNT is left extremely fragile at that position, creating a huge issue should even one midfielder be sidelined due to exhaustion, injury or suspension this summer.

Either way, Pochettino has made his call. He has his men, and Tanner Tessmann, Diego Luna and Aidan Morris will be tuning in from the television.

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