Jeff Carlisle
One of the keys to a successful World Cup next year for the U.S. men’s national team will be maintaining a modicum of health.
Last weekend, the U.S. could fully celebrate the fact that this is trending in the right direction. Fulham defender Antonee Robinson, AS Monaco striker Folarin Balogun and PSV Eindhoven forward Ricardo Pepi all made returns to the starting lineup for their respective clubs. Finding steady playing time is another key factor, so the sight of Gio Reyna moving to Borussia Mönchengladbach was also most welcome.
Not that these developments resulted in a USMNT call-up for the September window in every case, but the news is trending positively nonetheless.
Throughout the season, ESPN will be monitoring the progress of the U.S. player pool, delivering insights into those whose form or fitness has made them particularly intriguing. We call it the USMNT’s Countdown to the World Cup.
ESPN will count down to June 11 every week so that way, when the U.S. team is announced for this highly anticipated World Cup on home soil, no names on that 26-man roster will come as a surprise.
Welcome to the USMNT’s Countdown to the World Cup. Only 288 days to go.
– USMNT roster omissions might hamper World Cup preparations
– After skipping Gold Cup, Musah has big plans for USMNT in a World Cup year
– Is Gladbach the place to revive Reyna’s beleaguered career?
Gio Reyna | Attacker | Borussia Mönchengladbach
2025-26 minutes: 0
2025-26 FotMob rating: 0.0
A new hope at Gladbach
Reyna completed his long-anticipated — and long-hoped-for — move out of Borussia Dortmund, and landed with another Borussia, that being Borussia Mönchengladbach.
The move makes sense on a variety of levels. Reyna will remain in Germany, where he has played professionally since 2020, so there won’t be any cultural adaptation with which to contend. And he’ll be alongside childhood friend Joe Scally, with whom he was teammates when the two came up through the New York City FC academy.
Now comes the hard part: getting on the field and avoiding the kind of injuries that have plagued him the past few seasons.
Antoinee Robinson | Fullback | Fulham
2025-26 minutes: 45
2025-26 FotMob rating: 6.7
Return of the ‘Jedi’
Just call it the Return of the “Jedi.” Robinson made his long-awaited return to the field last weekend against Manchester United, putting in a 28-minute shift. The appearance came a bit too late for Robinson to help the USMNT in the September window, as he was left off Mauricio Pochettino’s roster.
The decision makes sense, however, as it will allow Robinson to build upon his base of fitness so that he can log even more minutes with Fulham when league play resumes this weekend against Chelsea.
Folarin Balogun | Forward | AS Monaco
2025-26 minutes: 90
2025-26 FotMob rating: 6.0
Can Balogun catch Sargent in race for No. 9 shirt?
Balogun went the distance in Monaco’s 1-0 loss to Lille, logging his first minutes of the season after recovering from a calf injury.
It was a frustrating afternoon, registering just one shot on goal, but the hope is that it’s not a one-and-done situation for Balogun and he continues to see the field. He also proved himself enough to be a late call-up to the USMNT for the September window. His last appearance came on Sept. 10, 2024, against New Zealand, under interim manager Mikey Varas, just days after Pochettino was introduced.
His ability to stretch defenses is unique within the U.S. pool of strikers, but he’ll face stiff competition for playing time from the in-form Josh Sargent.
The in-form XI
Pochettino clearly has no time for this week’s in-form starting XI.
Four of the choices were not called up for the September window, although Robinson’s absence is understandable. The midfield is the area that draws the most scrutiny, and goes deeper than Weston McKennie’s exclusion.
Johnny Cardoso has seen his playing time with Atlético Madrid increase, pointing to a steady role under manager Diego Simeone. Tanner Tessmann is off to a strong start in his second season at Lyon.
Then there’s Middlesbrough’s Aidan Morris, who earned Man of the Match honors in Boro’s past two league games. Tessmann gets the nod here in place of McKennie to line up alongside Tyler Adams and Cardoso, but already eyes are beginning to shift to the October window.
If Tessmann and Morris don’t get called in, then it will be apparent just how far down Pochettino’s depth chart they’ve sunk.
Toulouse defender Mark McKenzie was another surprise omission, as he was viewed as the prime backup behind Tim Ream and Chris Richards in the center of the U.S. defense. Instead, the Vancouver Whitecaps’ Tristan Blackmon and FC Augsburg prospect Noahkai Banks were selected. McKenzie has struggled with consistency when wearing a U.S. shirt, but he’s started strong with the French club. While the sample size is small, he’s been part of a Toulouse defense that has yet to concede.
One other aspect that Robinson’s exclusion makes clear is that the Columbus Crew’s Max Arfsten has the inside track to be the Fulham defender’s backup. That’s a rough development for John Tolkin.
In addition to starting every game so far for Holstein Kiel, he’s now scored in his past two games, although the last one against Greuther Fürth came on a fast break with the opposition way upfield for a corner kick.
There is one item to consider when it comes to the left back position. Dest started in that role for PSV in last weekend’s 4-2 win over Groningen. If, for some reason, Robinson isn’t available, it may be that Pochettino opts to slide Dest over and utilize one of his other right back options.
Big Board 1.0 update
ESPN’s USMNT Big Board 1.0 went live earlier this month, and each Big Board will provide the foundation for weekly player updates. Below are the minutes and player ratings for each of those 35 players.
Matt Turner, goalkeeper, New England Revolution: 270 minutes in 2025; 7.6 FotMob rating in 2025.
Matt Freese, goalkeeper, New York City FC: 2,340 minutes in 2025; 7.2 FotMob rating in 2025.
Zack Steffen, goalkeeper, Colorado Rapids: 1,890 minutes in 2025; 7.0 FotMob rating in 2025.
Patrick Schulte, goalkeeper, Columbus Crew: 2,070 minutes in 2025; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025.
Chris Richards, center back, Crystal Palace: 270 minutes in 2025-26; 7.1 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Tim Ream, center back, Charlotte FC: 1,892 minutes in 2025; 6.6 FotMob rating in 2025.
Mark McKenzie, center back, Toulouse: 180 minutes in 2025-26; 7.3 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, center back, Celtic: 390 minutes in 2025-26; 7.7 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Miles Robinson, center back, FC Cincinnati: 2,258 minutes in 2025; 6.9 FotMob rating in 2025.
Robinson just can’t catch a break. While it may be that Pochettino had his heart set on bringing in Blackmon and Banks, now it’s a calf injury that saw Robinson miss the past two games, giving him no chance. For a player who missed the 2022 World Cup due to a torn Achilles, it’s another blow in his bid to make a World Cup squad.
Auston Trusty, center back, Celtic: 152 minutes in 2025-26; 6.4 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Sergiño Dest, fullback, PSV Eindhoven: 352 minutes in 2025-26; 8.1 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Antonee Robinson, fullback, Fulham: 28 minutes in 2025-26; 6.2 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Joe Scally, fullback, Borussia Mönchengladbach: 180 minutes in 2025-26; 7.4 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Caleb Wiley, fullback, Watford: 0 minutes in 2025-26; 0.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Max Arfsten, fullback, Columbus Crew: 2,330 minutes in 2025; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025.
Alex Freeman, fullback, Orlando City SC: 2,352 minutes in 2025; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025.
Tyler Adams, midfielder, AFC Bournemouth: 194 minutes in 2025-26; 6.7 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Weston McKennie, midfielder, Juventus: 1 minute in 2025-26; 0.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Johnny Cardoso, midfielder, Atlético Madrid: 113 minutes in 2025-26; 6.9 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Luca de la Torre, midfielder, San Diego FC: 2,077 minutes in 2025; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025.
Tanner Tessmann, midfielder, Lyon: 180 minutes in 2025-26; 7.6 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Yunus Musah, midfielder, AC Milan: 25 minutes in 2025-26; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Will he stay or will he go? Musah was an unused sub in Milan’s shock 2-1 home defeat to Cremonese, which did nothing to quell the reports that he might be on the move to Atalanta, Napoli or Nottingham Forest. Musah told ESPN he very much wants to stay in Milan, but we’ll see if manager Max Allegri rewards that attitude and keeps Musah around.
1:38
Yunus Musah explains his decision to skip the USMNT’s Gold Cup run
Yunus Musah joins “The Football Reporters” podcast to explain why he chose not to be a part of the USMNT’s 2025 Gold Cup squad.
Sebastian Berhalter, midfielder, Vancouver Whitecaps: 2,560 minutes in 2025; 7.4 FotMob rating in 2025.
Christian Pulisic, attacker, AC Milan: 156 minutes in 2025-26; 7.9 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Tim Weah, attacker, Marseille: 108 minutes in 2025-26; 6.7 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Malik Tillman, attacker, Bayer Leverkusen: 0 minutes in 2025-26; 0.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Diego Luna, attacker, Real Salt Lake: 2,005 minutes in 2025; 7.2 FotMob rating in 2025.
Alejandro Zendejas, attacker, América: 461 minutes in 2025-26; 7.2 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Giovanni Reyna, attacker, Borussia Mönchengladbach: 0 minutes in 2025-26; 0.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Folarin Balogun, forward, AS Monaco: 90 minutes in 2025-26; 6.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Ricardo Pepi, forward, PSV Eindhoven: 33 minutes in 2025-26; 6.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Pepi’s season debut against Groningen may have only lasted four minutes, but it was important nonetheless. It marked his first appearance since injuring his knee last January. With Pepi’s longtime competition, Luuk de Jong, having moved onto pastures new, the time is now for Pepi to stake his claim to the starting spot.
Josh Sargent, forward, Norwich City: 317 minutes in 2025-26; 7.6 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Patrick Agyemang, forward, Derby County: 0 minutes in 2025-26; 0.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Haji Wright, forward, Coventry City: 276 minutes in 2025-26; 7.6 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
Wright’s omission from the USMNT roster flew under the radar a bit, given some of the big names that were excluded, but it was one that definitely fell into the head-scratcher category. Wright has four goals in his past three appearances, including two in last weekend’s 7-1 demolition of Queens Park Rangers.
Damion Downs, forward, Southampton: 156 minutes in 2025-26; 6.6 FotMob rating in 2025-26.
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