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Playing at the 2026 World Cup on home soil is the dream for every single United States international.
With 48 teams from around the world set to converge on the U.S., Mexico and Canada for the competition this summer, every player eligible for USMNT selection is hoping to put their best foot forward and impress head coach Mauricio Pochettino.
The process for selection is nearing completion, but there is one more international window to navigate. USMNT players will hope that a strong performance against Portugal and Belgium in March can help solidify a place on the final roster.
"Every camp is important, every training session is important, every touch is important, and you treat everything as if it's the most important," said USMNT captain Tim Ream at the start of March camp. "Things are constantly in flux, there's battles all over the field. We're all pushing each other, we all want everybody to be performing at their very best."
The Sporting News takes a look at five (well, more or less) players who are in most need of a strong performance this March if they hope to be a part of the squad a few months from now, and consequently, those who would also be most harmed by a poor showing in Atlanta.
MORE: A full look at the USMNT roster for the March games vs. Portugal and Belgium
Five USMNT players who need a good performance in March
Patrick Agyemang
The striker pool was once a position of weakness for the United States, but it is suddenly now loaded with players performing at a high level in Europe.
The perceived starting No. 9 is Folarin Balogun, who has had success this season at AS Monaco in both Ligue 1 and the Champions League.
Behind him, there is not yet a solidified pecking order, but Patrick Agyemang isn't likely high up on it as it stands. When healthy, Ricardo Pepi has poured in goals playing for PSV in the Netherlands, and the same is true for Haji Wright at Coventry City. It's likely that Agyemang is fourth on the depth chart and is further harmed by the fact that both Pepi and Wright can play out wide if needed.
"For me, I focus on myself a lot," Agyemang said to reporters about the fierce striker competition at USMNT camp in Atlanta on Monday. "Obviously, it's good to see all the boys doing well, but this is part of the job you do. The national team is always competitive, and you're competing against a lot of the top guys. All those boys are doing really well. It's a great feeling to be in the mix, and you just have to keep working hard to be in the mix and hopefully be selected."
Agyemang is likely only on this roster due to an injury to Wright just before the international break. Even with a strong performance this window, Agyemang may still find himself unable to break through past those above him, but a few goals against Portugal and Belgium surely wouldn't hurt.
MORE: Predicting the USMNT roster and starting lineup at the 2026 World Cup
Matt Turner
Since starting for the United States at both the 2022 World Cup and the 2024 Copa America, Matt Turner has lost his iron grip on the No. 1 shirt. Turner's last start for the USMNT came last summer in the 4-0 defeat to Switzerland, while he also started the disastrous two defeats in the CONCACAF Nations League a year ago against Panama and Canada.
Once a rock between the sticks, mistakes in possession have plagued Turner, whose club situation turned sour in England at the same time, necessitating a move back to MLS.
While Matt Freese seems to have locked down the starting goalkeeper spot, Turner is still in the mix for the backup job, but needs a good performance this March — if he's even given one. The last eight times Turner has been in the U.S. national-team squad (six of which came in last summer's Gold Cup), he's been an unused substitute.
Gio Reyna
Despite still not playing at the club level, Pochettino has made it clear that Gio Reyna is an important part of the USMNT squad.
For yet another season, Reyna has barely seen the field for his club Borussia Monchengladbach, making just 13 Bundesliga appearances totaling 398 minutes and failing to score a single goal. Yet he has been a standout player every time he's been called in to the USMNT setup, scoring a goal and assisting another in the two friendlies back in November.
Despite repeatedly proclaiming that players must perform at the club level to be an option for the national team, Pochettino has made a clear exception for Reyna, who he believes can be an asset to the USMNT at the World Cup.
Reyna has nothing in his domestic season to fall back on. If his performances at the national team begin to slip, he no longer has any usefulness to Pochettino. If he wants to be involved at the 2026 World Cup, he cannot allow that to happen, making every single match a must-have for Reyna. Any no-shows, and he's out.
Brenden Aaronson
Brenden Aaronson has gone through significant dry spells at the national-team level throughout his career, yet the 25-year-old remains part of Pochettino's squad. While he is no longer an every-game starter, which he was throughout 2022 World Cup qualifying, Aaronson boasts qualities that fit well with Pochettino's style.
Specifically, Aaronson is a strong presser, making him an asset both from the beginning and, more importantly given the squad makeup, off the bench. Aaronson has just one USMNT goal and one assist since October 2023, but his unique skill set and strong Premier League season (four goals and three assists with Leeds United) have kept him in the mix.
Despite that, he's still on the fringe of the squad. With Wright and Diego Luna injured and not able to participate in March, it's possible that Aaronson, Reyna, or both would be on the outside if those two were available for selection. Aaronson has shown resiliency even if he doesn't score goals or provide assists, but the longer he's not contributing to front-line output, the easier it is for other wingers to pass him on the depth chart.
Every single center-back not named Chris Richards
Okay, we've technically gone beyond five names here, but bear with us.
With the World Cup approaching, the center-back picture at the USMNT remains in flux. One of the team's biggest positions of weakness, the options continue to change almost weekly.
With Chris Richards a locked-in starter, the rest of the roster gets a bit muddy below that. Ream is the captain and likely a starter as well, but he has struggled at times to begin the 2026 MLS season, and further slips could open the position up further.
At best, the third starting spot is wide open. Miles Robinson, Auston Trusty, and Mark McKenzie are the options currently on the roster, and all three could win the job. Beyond that, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Walker Zimmerman, Tristan Blackmon, and George Campbell could all be considered as the summer approaches, and that's not even including the possibility that Noahkai Banks decides to commit to the United States in time for the World Cup.
It may very well come down to matchups, with Pochettino deciding who to start at the third center-back position on a game-by-game basis throughout the World Cup. If that's the case, just being in the squad gives one a chance to play at the summer tournament. A strong performance against top European opposition this March would be a massive boost in the race for roster spots.
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