The United States team defined the 26 footballers who will compete in the 2026 World Cup and among the most striking names is Alejandro Zendejas, a Club América attacker who managed to enter the final list presented by Mauricio Pochettino. Thus, the USMNT is already preparing to begin its training camp in Atlanta before the tournament that will be held in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

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Zendejas, born in El Paso, Texas, became the first soccer player who plays in Liga MX to make a World Cup call-up for the American team since DaMarcus Beasley in 2014.

The winger, who was called up to Tri during the mandate of Gerardo 'Tata' Martino, arrives after a season in which he registered 12 goals and seven assists in 33 games with América, including three goals during the Clausura league.

“He represents a lot of possibilities, he is the only one with a wing profile, but he can also play inside, he has a goal, he communicates, he generates many positive things and he is very interesting,” the coach explained about the choice of Zandejas.

The team led by Pochettino, who left out Diego Luna, will face two friendlies before their World Cup debut. The first will be on May 31 against Senegal in Charlotte and the second on June 6 against Germany in Chicago. Then will come the debut in the World Cup against Paraguay on June 12 in Los Angeles. Group D also includes Australia and Türkiye.

The Argentine coach defended the choice of his squad and recognized the difficulty of the process. “We are confident that this is the best group of 26 players to help us achieve success at the World Cup,” he said. "These were very difficult decisions and we thank all the players who were part of this journey. This group is very focused and ready to give everything they have to represent the United States and deliver performances that will make the fans and the country proud."

An experienced base and several debutants

The call mixes players with World Cup experience and others who will experience their first World Cup. Thirteen footballers were present at Qatar 2022, a figure that equals the American record for most repeated players between two consecutive World Cups.

Christian Pulisic heads the list as the player with the most international appearances among those called up, with 84 appearances. They also repeat names like Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, Gio Reyna and Sergiño Dest. Eight of them started in the four games played by the United States in the last edition of the tournament.

In attack, the coaching staff opted for forwards who arrive with good numbers in their European clubs. Folarin Balogun scored 19 goals for Monaco, Ricardo Pepi added another 19 for PSV Eindhoven and Haji Wright closed the season with 18 goals for Coventry City. Between the three of them they accumulated 56 goals in all competitions.

The list also presents several particular cases. Chris Brady, goalkeeper of the Chicago Fire, is the first player without minutes with the senior team to enter a US World Cup call-up since 1994. Sebastian Berhalter will follow the path of his father Gregg Berhalter, who played in the 2002 and 2006 World Cups.

The American team will have one of the youngest squads in the tournament, with an average age close to 27 years old. In addition, 13 footballers will have their first experience in a World Cup.

The roster must still be made official to FIFA before June 1. Up to 24 hours before the debut against Paraguay, the United States will be able to replace injured players.

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