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Jeff Carlisle
The holiday season sees players US men’s national team In wildly different parts of their respective campaigns. The halfway point of the European club season has just arrived. Some competitions–like Premier League – Power during the festive period, while others are about to take a short break. During this time, Major League Soccer Has gone into hibernation with Liga MX Is about to conclude its Apertura campaign.
However, there is no rest for the players, especially in a fixed position AC Milan The attacker doesn’t even know that the flu can slow him down.
Throughout the season, ESPN will monitor the progress of the player pool, highlighting those whose form or fitness has made them of particular interest. We call it the USMNT’s countdown to the 2026 World Cup.
ESPN will count down every week until June 11. When the U.S. squad for this highly anticipated World Cup on home soil is announced, it would be surprising not to have any names on that 26-man roster. Only 183 days left.
2025-26 min: 550
2025-26 photomob rating, 7.7
Form and fitness make Pulisic a surefire starter
The last few months have been a bit of a standstill for Pulisic. He missed almost a month in October due to a hamstring injury, as well as another muscle injury that caused him to miss a 1–0 win. Lazio On 29 November. Then there was his recent illness, which Pulisic said he felt “dead” Just a day before the match on Monday torino,
Pulisic introduced his own version of the “Flu Game”, though not as much was at stake as the Michael Jordan-inspired version. And he was huge, entering in the 66th minute of Tuesday’s match and scoring in less than a minute. He then scored the game winner 10 minutes later to give Milan a 3–2 win and go back to the top. serie a Standings, and Pulisic’s seven goals in 2025-26 are equal inter Milan‘S lautaro martinez For the most in Serie A.
The impulse to protect Pulisic in bubble wrap between now and June is strong, but as long as he maintains his current health and form, USMNT fans will be content with him tearing it up for Milan. And as much as U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino hates the whole starter/reserve characterization, Pulisic’s current level makes him one of the few surefire starters in the USMNT lineup.
2025-26 min: 713
2025-26 photomob rating, 6.7
Are banks a surprising choice in the defense sector?
For most players, progression is usually of the sawtooth variety: a few ticks up, followed by a step down. So it’s gone to the banks. The 19-year-old faced tough conditions in Augsburg’s 3-0 defeat TSG Hoffenheim on 28 November, but enjoyed a bounce-back performance the following week in a surprise 2–0 win over bayer leverkusenThrough it all, it’s fair to say that Banks has become a mainstay in the Augsburg lineup, starting all nine of the club’s last league matches,
How do all these factors fit into the USMNT picture?
The banks are certainly helping his cause, and while BundesligaWith their winter break set to begin on December 21 and run until approximately January 9, he will have plenty of opportunities to impress before the next international window in March. Banks will have few players to look forward to, even with his celtic‘S Cameron Carter-Vickers He has been sidelined with an Achilles injury, but Pochettino is known to be a fan, meaning the window of opportunity is slightly open for Banks.
2025-26 min: 1,772
2025-26 photomob rating, 7.0
Sergeant finally back on the score sheet
Some good news finally reaches Sgt. The Norwich City striker scored a brilliant diving header. watfordAlthough the Canaries eventually lost 3–2, it was Sargent’s first goal since the 30 August clash blackburn roversIt comes after Sergeant’s assist in last week’s 3-1 win Queens Park RangersSnapped a 13-match winless streak.
To be clear, Sargent’s dry spell means he belongs in the basement when it comes to the USMNT depth chart. choice of AS Monaco‘S Folarin Balogun, psv eindhoven‘S ricardo pepi, coventry city‘S Haji WrightAnd derby county‘S patrick agyemang All are located above the Sergeant at this point (more on this in a moment). But the Norwich forward needed to start somewhere, and last weekend’s goal is as good a place as any.
XI in form
History was made in uefa champions league On Tuesday. After missing a few chances, Balogun scored the only goal of the match to give his team a 1–0 win. GalatasarayThe tally marked the third consecutive game in which Balogun scored in the Champions League, the first for an American, He now has 10 goals in the season for club and country,
Balogun wasn’t the only American to find the net, either. Pepi also scored, although PSV’s late effort was defeated Atletico Madrid3-2. While competition for spots on the USMNT remains fierce, Balogun continues to keep his competitors at bay, and his work rate and mobility – in addition to his finishing – should help him stay there.
when it comes juventus midfielder Weston McKenneyYou can count their club manager Luciano Spalletti among the converts.
“It’s a strong person who makes a strong footballer. McKennie has this attitude, this way of meeting you halfway, like he’s saying: ‘You ask, I’ll do,'” Spalletti said before last weekend’s match. napoli“He starts off and becomes dominant; you can tell he faced his fears when he was younger because to be brave, you have to face the thing that scares you, He tries to make plays that aren’t normally part of his repertoire, but he tries them anyway,”
Spalletti is McKennie’s fifth permanent manager since arriving in Turin in 2020, and it seems the US midfielder has rarely been given the benefit of the doubt. Some of this was due to McKennie’s inability to maintain the required fitness, but this campaign has seen him overcome those concerns. He remains Juventus’ Swiss Army knife, and even emerged to score the opening goal in Juve’s 2–0 win over Paphos in the Champions League.
The question remains: where does McKennie fit in with the national team? He has logged a lot of minutes at wing back for Juve this season, but that position has been relatively well-stocked for the United States. sergino destination, Tim Weah, alex freeman And max arfston Everyone is competing for minutes. This leaves the central midfield role with either tyler adamsOr does he occupy one of the more attacking midfielder positions alongside Pulisic?
For now, the attacking midfield position appears to suit McKennie. Although he is definitely a two-way player, his skill set relies more on the offensive side of things, and he has done well with it. malik tillman in a 1-1 draw against Ecuador Last October. But competition for that spot is stiff. In addition to Tillman, there is borussia monchengladbach‘S gio reyna, America‘S Alejandro Zendejas And real salt lake‘S diego luna Everyone is competing for time.
A lot will depend on how aggressive Pochettino wants to be in a particular match going forward. If he wants more creativity on the field, he could move McKennie back into midfield. If he takes a more defensive stance, Tanner Tesman Adams could be the guy to pursue alongside McKennie.
There are scenarios where McKennie could be the guy to come off the bench. Given his willingness to sacrifice for the team, the possibilities are endless. It is known that McKennie’s performances at club level have put him firmly in the World Cup roster mix.
