Why Isn’t Josh Sargent on the 2026 USMNT World Cup Roster?

The Toronto FC striker was left out of Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup plans.

Josh Sargent won’t be at the 2026 World Cup. | Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

The U.S. men’s national team includes 13 players that are heading into their second World Cup after competing at Qatar 2022, but will also be without 13 who played a central role at the tournament four years ago, headlined by Josh Sargent. 

At 26 years old, Sargent was left off the roster alongside other forwards from the 2022 roster, including Seattle Sounders’ Jordan Morris and Jesús Ferreira, as manager Mauricio Pochettino opted to go with just three outright strikers for 2026: Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, and Haji Wright. Sargent has largely been left out of the mix since Pochettino took over in Sept. 2024. 

After scoring seven goals in 23 games with Norwich City in the English Championship, Sargent moved to Toronto FC for a club-record $22 million in March, joining the team for their 2026 MLS season. 

While Sargent has three goals in seven MLS matches since joining the Canadian side, his form with the USMNT had dipped for far too long, as other strikers thrived. The last USMNT goal he scored came back in October 2019, when he scored a brace against Cuba in the Concacaf Nations League. 

Since Pochettino took over, he has been called up four times but has failed to score or assist, despite playing over 60 minutes in each appearance. 

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Injury Impacts Sargent’s Final Push

Toronto FC’s Josh Sargent is out of Pochettino's plans. | Vaughan Ridley/Getty Images

The start to life in MLS has been fairly positive for Sargent, and he scored a smashing finish for Toronto FC in the club’s final game before the World Cup break. However, since arriving, he has missed several matches due to injury, including problems with his thigh, which has hampered his form and his potential to make a late push for the World Cup squad. 

Instead, he gets a few weeks off in the summer and will reconvene with his club for a July 16 visit to rivals CF Montréal as part of a four-game rivalry slate that MLS has scheduled between the World Cup semifinals and final. 

Toronto FC currently sits 13th in the MLS Eastern Conference, with hopes of pushing into the top nine and the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since 2020.

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