5 USMNT Players who can seal 2026 World Cup spot at 2025 Gold Cup

Less than a full calendar year separates the start of the 2025 Gold Cup from the 2026 World Cup, meaning this summer's tournament is crucial for every American player with aspirations of performing on the global stage.

Every player that was called up to the United States Men's National Team is well aware of the situation, as well as the fact that head coach Mauricio Pochettino is still learning about the player pool while trying to figure out which players are "desperate to perform" for their country.

He called up a rather suprising squad for the Gold Cup, which contains more MLS-based players than usual as some of the senior players — such as Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Ricardo Pepi and Yunus Musah — will miss out either due to fatigue (Pulisic), injury (Robinson, Pepi), the Club World Cup (McKennie, Weah, Reyna), or personal reasons (Musah).

Still, the USMNT Gold Cup squad has enough quality to make a deep run, and the players in the squad will be motivated to make a lasting impression on Pochettino.

Here are the five USMNT players who could seal their spot at the 2026 World Cup with good performances at this summer's Gold Cup.

Max Arfsten

Club: Columbus Crew
Position: Left back

The United States National Team has needed a solid backup for left back Antonee Robinson for a few years now, and 24-year-old Columbus Crew starter Max Arfsten could be that guy.

Since breaking into the Crew first XI as a starter last season, Arfsten has combined for seven goals and eight assists in just under 3,500 MLS minutes. He started out as a wing-back with Columbus, but this season has found success as a fullback as coach Wilfried Nancy has used a back four more often.

Arfsten has played 41 crosses in 16 MLS matches this season, and while only 17% of those have found one of his Crew teammates in the penalty area, he still ranks 15th in MLS in expected assists (xA).

He certainly benefits from Nancy's press-and-possess style, and his attacking stats among MLS fullbacks (listed below) prove that. While he seems ready-made for a Pochettino system, perhaps the more important question is how he'd fare lining up across from some of the world's best wingers.

Statistic	Per-90-minute rate	Percentile (among MLS fullbacks)
Shots	1.79	Top 1%
Expected Goals (xG) + Expected Assists (xA)	0.45	Top 2%
xA	0.26	Top 3%
Successful Dribbles	1.47	Top 4%
Touches in Attacking Penalty Area	3.65	Top 4%
Passes into Penalty Area	1.86	Top 7%
Key Passes	1.47	Top 11%

Diego Luna

Club: Real Salt Lake
Position: Attacking midfield/left wing

Diego Luna impressed Pochettino in the friendly match against Costa Rica in January, as he suffered a broken nose and played through it to provide an assist.

After scoring eight goals and providing eight assists in 31 MLS appearances last season, Luna has taken his game up a level with eight goals and two assists after just 16 matches in the 2025 season.

He has since called the broken nose "life-changing," as it impressed his national team coach while providing the player with newfound confidence.

Luna has out-shot his expected goals (xG) by 3.4 this season, and he is one of the best pressers in the league as he wins possession in his team's attacking third 1.07 times per 90 minutes. His finishing, pressing and work ethic could be vital under Poch, and with the team at full strength in 2026, the Real Salt Lake star could provide a spark off the bench late in matches.

Statistic	Per-90-minute rate	Percentile (among MLS attacking mids/wingers)
Goals Scored Above Expected	+0.23	Top 3%
Goals	0.54	Top 6%
Possession Won Attacking Third	1.07	Top 8%
Switches of Play	0.74	Top 9%

Quinn Sullivan

Club: Philadelphia Union
Position: Attacking midfield/wing

Philadelphia Union playmaker Quinn Sullivan could well compete with Luna for one of the final attacking midfield spots on the 2026 World Cup squad, but the two players certainly can coexist. Sullivan is more of a playmaker, while Luna is more of a goalscorer.

Sullivan has dramatically raised his stock since the beginning of the 2024 MLS season. He entered that year with five goals and three assists in less than 1,500 minutes between the 2021 and 2023 MLS seasons.

In '24, he scored five goals with eight assists in 2,403 minutes over 34 appearances, and he's built on that with two goals and six assists in 1,290 minutes across 17 matches in 2025.

A true playmaker who has excelled both in midfield and on the wing, Sullivan could bring some much-needed incisive passing to the USMNT midfield, which in turn would benefit the national team attack. The Union Academy product ranks in the top 10% of MLS attacking midfielders and wingers in the following key attacking stats:

Statistic	Per-90-minute rate	Percentile (among MLS attacking mids/wingers)
Assists	0.42	Top 1%
Touches in Attacking Penalty Area	4.40	Top 1%
Progressive Carries	3.42	Top 1%
Crosses into Penalty Area	0.56	Top 4%
Carries into Penalty Area	2.44	Top 5%
Successful Dribbles	1.40	Top 7%
Expected Assists (xA)	0.24	Top 7%
Expected Goals (xG)	0.18	Top 7%
Shot-Creating Actions	4.33	Top 7%

Brian White

Club: Vancouver Whitecaps
Position: Striker

Remember a few years ago, when the USMNT had about six up-and-coming strikers based in Europe, and all the fans thought it would be a position of strength for years to come?

Well, after all that, we're back to Brian White.

That's a testament to White and his consistency more than anything. While young Americans scoring hat tricks in Germany's Bundesliga or moving to European teams for tens of millions of dollars will get USMNT fans excited on the internet, there's something to be said for putting the ball in the net consistently year after year.

That's where White finds himself. We're just 12 games into the 2025 season, and he's already scored 10 league goals to make it three straight seasons reaching that milestone. While consistency is his hallmark, he's scoring a career-high 0.89 goals per 90 minutes, which should make him a shoo-in for the USMNT's World Cup squad if he can sustain anything near that rate through the summer of 2026.

Statistic	Per-90-minute rate	Percentile (among MLS strikers)
Goals	0.89	Top 3%
Goals Scored Above Expected	+0.22	Top 10%
Non-Penalty Expected Goals (npxG)	0.59	Top 12%
Shots on Target	1.59	Top 17%

Matt Freese

Club: New York City FC
Position: Goalkeeper

Matt Freese, a Philadelphia Union academy product who moved to New York City FC for more playing time in 2023, has been a solid MLS starting goalkeeper for a few years now, and the 26-year-old is still improving.

Freese's goals prevented above expected rate has improved each year since joining NYCFC, and he has grown more confident as a sweeper. He also likes to start counter-attacks with long throws, which would suit quick attackers such as Pulisic or rapid fullbacks like Robinson.

Matt Turner is the only USMNT 'keeper from the 2022 World Cup squad who still receives call-ups, meaning there's room for Poch to call up both Freese and Zack Steffen.

Steffen had lost his spot to Turner but has since played his way back into the fold, and Poch's selection in goal during the Gold Cup will provide an indication of the favorite to start there next summer.

Statistic	Per-90-minute rate	Percentile (among MLS goalkeepers)
Goals Prevented Above Expected	+0.25	Top 10%
Crosses Stopped	0.88	Top 10%
Throws Attempted	6.18	Top 1%

Stats courtesy of FBRef.com and FotMob.