From this list who gets invited to WC (as of now)? Tyler Tessman Morris Wes Reyna Aaronson Berhalter Luna Musah
In terms of the double-pivot in 3421: 1. Adams 2. Malik Tillman 3. Berhalter 4. Tessman 5. Roldan Adding Musah, McKennie, and Morris makes for great competition for roster spots.
Should have included Malik. Oversight by me. Can’t see Roldan making it. I’d go with AMs of Malik, Wes, Reyna and Berhalter. DMs Tyler and Tessman.
In terms of the 10/winger positions: 1. Reyna 2. Pulisic 3. Weah 4. Zendejas 5. Luna Adding McKennie, Balogun, Wright, Aaronson, Paredes, Albert, Cavan, Gozo adds to the quality of competition.
As for front line wingers, it looks like CP + 3 of Weah, Zendejas, Wright, Luna, Aaaronson. If Reyna goes he goes as a 10 in my best guess.
Malik Tillman has played the CAM role in basically every match he's played for Pochettino except maybe one. I know everyone's excited about Reyna and I assume you are trying to clear space for him, but pretending that Poch doesn't see him there is just ignoring reality.
I have no idea what the formation has to do with anything -- and again, this was a 4231, and very similar to what Tillman played as CAM in the GC. Tillman certainly can play in one of the CM roles. I have no idea why he'd be excluded from the CAM conversation. It's almost like putting Tillman and McKennie into that conversation would make for a really interesting debate, but we want to avoid that for reasons?
Really? I can understand if you'd like to make an argument that he shouldn't make it. But can't see him make it? Players who haven't been called in in nearly a year make the list and someone with the recent track record of Roldan and who has been called out and praised by Poch in pretty strong terms ... you couldn't see it?
something (that could be nothing) is that in these two matches we saw dest as a full-on winger with no defensive responsibilities (beyond a very general "everyone pitches in). hes dropped back less than arfsten generally does. that aligns his role both with musah in the beginning of pochs tenure and weahs more recently, which poch has insisted repeatedly isnt a wingback role. the relevance being that if that role acts as a de facto third attacking mid (with dests insistence on moving inside) with the two already in play to act as a line of 3 under the striker, and arfsten (primarily) overlapping on the opposite side (adams sitting in that pocket above the lcb and cb), the right-sided cm will have a lot more defensive responsibility than weve seen post-gc. any of seb, roldan or morris would fit that profile a lot more than tesserman, would example (though i think tylers backup is the only real way for morris into the team). again, this is based entirely on how dest was used in two matches- so complete speculation. but it could be a way to get seb on the pitch for set pieces, with fairly narrow parameters otherwise. in any case ill say adams, tesserman, seb and one of roldan/morris as cms. or both. with puli, malik and luna as ams, and wes, you know, somewhere.
Transferring an exchange from elsewhere, as it also fits here ... I think we still need to determine our best central midfield combination, and here I side with Wixson (and complexity), not HHF (and simplicity). I like Adams a lot, but - even if we assume (as most here seem to) that Adams is our best central midfielder - that does not necessarily mean Adams + CM2 is our best CM combination, which might vary by opponent, our own formation and player selection, etc. We have to think about tournament rotation as well. Our best combination (in certain circumstances) might be CM2 + CM3. Anyway, Poch has a lot to think about, but that's good. He's been taking a fresh look at our pool, and he's made each position a competitive choice.
I really don't think we know yet. I want to see Adams in a team playing like this team. Neither Morris nor Roldan is exactly Pirlo back there -- let's see if Adams can play the more defensive Hunter Killer role that is all over the field. People didn't expect Morris - Berhalter to be able to do that, so perhaps Adams - McKennie can elevate their games. And if not, well, then you start to have choices. I do think the current midfield style is very much an enabler / core / required for how we are playing. Not that adjusting to something different couldn't create something else good ... but Roldan's entry was such an unlock in part because he played completely differently than Adams and Berhalter were in that game.
Midfield roster decisions are complex. I hope he makes those decisions by imagining post group stage opponents and what people are likely to be able to compete vs those squads.
I look forward to reading about the complexities that would cause a rational manager to not start even a 80% healthy Tyler Adams in in every single match at WC2026. Adams is a world class backline protector and significantly tilts the field in our favor. What exactly will you replace that kind of an asset with? A player who can make a nice 15 yard pass up field. That is a dime a hundred!
Malik is a better player than Tessman, but he’d play in that double pivot much differently than what we’ve seen with Tanner and I’m not sure if Adams would be a good partner for him. Partnering a player like Adams (and Roldan, to a lesser extent) requires calling for the ball consistently and being a high-volume possession hub in the middle of the pitch. Malik is full of clever touches, turns and dribbles but he doesn’t look to receive the ball in tough spots in the middle third and isn’t a player who loves to have his ball on his foot for more than a touch or two. On the flip side, Adams is perfect for Tessman because of his defensive range. I’m a pretty big Reyna guy but I think he’s the perfect ‘65 minute sub for us if everyone is available, pulling Adams if we’re down.
Since this thread is just about the midfield I understand why other posters are dubious about Adams. However, in the context of the full 11, you are right and they are not. Look at how we played last night…Freeman and Dest were our entire right side, and I don’t have to look at a heat map to know how far forward they played. As if that’s not enough, it’s possible Poch might do the same thing on the other side with Jedi and Arfsten. In that context, Adams is the guy we need.
Tyler Tessman Wes Reyna Aaronson Luna Berhalter, I'm 50/50 on. And as much as it vexes me, I think Musah's surplus on Poch's side. On paper, it's just ridiculous to think that we could afford to leave out a Musah or a Cardoso, but I don't see a place for them. I'll keep the porch light on for both of them even now, but right now I don't think that either will make the side. Roldan has been our most consistent midfield performer of 2026, against WC-caliber competition, and Berhalter brings the set piece quality and a certain fiery competitor personality to the side that is nice to have going into a big tournament. Aaronson is too good defensively and too versatile to leave off of a roster, I think, and Poch has been a fan of "big balls" Luna. For me, Luna would be the most droppable to make room for a resurgent Musah or Cardoso, but Luna's a competitor with some final-third quality, and he hasn't been really exposed in any of these matches against strong opponents yet. He's clearly a sub, but he's hung in there.
I could see Johnny fitting in decently well offensively with some reps. I’m most worried about his ability to get around the field. He’s never played rangy; I don’t know if that’s purely a footspeed issue or role. Musah … can you get Musah to get rid of the ball quickly and find aggressive, incisive passes? That feels like a tall order for a short time. He’s one where you kind of wish Poch had him in a club aspect, b/c I’d bet with time he could be unlocked. But right now, he’s kind of the opposite of the way we are playing.
When we first signed Poch, my guess was that we were going to see a resurgence of Musah, Gio, and some unknown fullback, who has happened to be BOTH Freeman AND Arfsten, though Freeman in a primarily attacking and Arfsten in a primarily defending role. It hasn't happened with Musah, though he was one of Poch's very first "guys," sort of. And it's only just starting to happen with Gio, still incomplete. Musah is rangey and wins the ball well, but he doesn't combine nearly well enough, both because his passing his mediocre, and he mentally just doesn't seem to have eyes to combine well. He's an excellent progresser of the ball through the midfield with his dribbling, but that slows down our game too much, and he doesn't beat elite 1v1 defenders on the dribble well enough to play the "wide 10" or the RW/(B) that Dest and Weah play. I don't think he's done with the US national team. He maybe has a 50/50 chance to make the March window, and even if he doesn't, the next coach is going to want to use him next cycle in some capacity, I'm sure, unless he simply decides after getting cut that he's done with international football.