As of Friday morning, all signs pointed to a U.S. World Cup roster release that was relatively uneventful and inconsequential.
Sure, there were questions on the margins for head coach Mauricio Pochettino. There were decisions that would elate or devastate players. There were some on the bubble, such as Gio Reyna and Zavier Gozo, who could, in theory, change a World Cup game. But nothing, it seemed, would really change the USMNT’s outlook.
Then, at around 1 p.m. Friday, emails from U.S. Soccer popped into players’ inboxes.
One told Tanner Tessmann, a midfielder who featured in each of the last six USMNT games, that he isn’t on the roster, multiple sources told The Athletic.
And in that instant, the World Cup calculus changed.
It’s not entirely clear why Tessmann has been omitted. He picked up a muscle injury earlier this month, but a source briefed on the injury told The Athletic there was no concern regarding his World Cup availability. Before the injury, his form and playing time had dipped at his French club, Lyon, but he was still seen as a potential World Cup starter — especially after fellow midfielder Johnny Cardoso suffered an ankle injury that required surgery, which ruled Cardoso out of the tournament.
Now, of course, Tessmann is not a potential starter. The USMNT midfield, which once appeared deep, suddenly looks unbalanced. Tyler Adams is the roster’s only defensive-minded midfielder playing his club soccer outside MLS. And the question, now, is how the heck Pochettino plans to adjust.
Tessmann had started the opening games of the October, November and March windows in a double-pivot, with a rotating cast of midfielders (Aidan Morris, Cristian Roldan, Cardoso) next to him. Adams missed all three of those games (due to the birth of his son and then injuries), but the assumption was that the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup captain would slot into his standard position alongside Tessmann, and their contrasting skillsets — Adams quick, combative and pugnacious, Tessmann rangy and technical — would make them a potent partnership, with Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie ahead of them, plus talented wingbacks on both sides.
The USMNT will have a Tanner Tessmann-sized hole in central midfield at the World Cup (Perry McIntyre / ISI Photos / Getty Images)
What will Pochettino do instead?
He could insert Roldan or Sebastian Berhalter next to Adams.
He could pull McKennie back into that deeper role.
Or he could change the USMNT’s shape.
All three options, though, have drawbacks. No. 1 throws an MLS star into the World Cup fire. No. 2 restricts McKennie, a player who excels with “freedom.” No. 3 is a wildcard that could work, but could also yield a mess.
Roldan and Berhalter, to be clear, are worthy inclusions in the squad. They have a habit of rising to occasions. Roldan was excellent at the Club World Cup last summer against Botafogo, Atlético Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain. Berhalter has been superb for the Vancouver Whitecaps in big moments. In fact, both players’ performances against Lionel Messi and Inter Miami in knockout tournaments were part of what convinced Pochettino to call them up in 2025.
But still, they play in a league that moves at a snail’s pace compared to Europe’s Big Five. They’re both limited technically. Berhalter looked out of his depth when paired with Adams against South Korea last September, and isn’t really a holding midfielder anyway. Between the two, Roldan would be the better option.
McKennie, in a vacuum, would be the best choice. But his success at Juventus this season, and his predominant role under Pochettino, has been predicated on that aforementioned freedom. “He’s a player that needs freedom,” Pochettino said back in October. He has, in Pochettino’s words, “the capacity, from a higher position, to interpret and to read the demands of the game,” which is why the U.S. coach played him in a somewhat undefined attacking midfield role.
McKennie likes that role. “I’m the type of player that likes to get forward, and have the freedom to move around, and the trust and belief from the coach to be able to do that, to make runs in behind,” he said after an October draw with Ecuador. “I like to be in the box. But I also like to defend and press.”
With the U.S. defensive midfield appearing to be thin, what might Weston McKennie’s World Cup role be? (Jared C. Tilton / Getty Images)
His ability to do all of that, though, is limited if he’s beside Adams, as the second central midfielder with some structural defensive responsibilities.
Perhaps those responsibilities would be less stringent if Pochettino plans to play three center backs — which he might, given that he selected 10 (ten!) defenders.
But nonetheless, there is now a hole in the center of the park.
It seems, on the surface, like a self-inflicted error. It’s very hard to envision all 10 of those defenders — plus an 11th player, Tim Weah, who often starts at right back — seeing the field. It’s very easy, on the other hand, to envision a scenario where Adams gets injured or picks up two yellow cards; and where, in his absence, this thin central midfield group can’t cope with the demands of high-level international soccer.
Maybe Pochettino has a masterplan, a new wrinkle that will bring the best out of this USMNT. Maybe none of this will matter. But it’s clear that with Tessmann at home, the vision that many had for this U.S. team has changed.
