‘You have to be fully immersed right now’ - How USMNT's MLS players are preparing for a World Cup year

For most of the USMNT’s MLS-based contingent, 2025 was a long, career-defining year. It started with January camp on Jan. 7 and, for those who went deep in the MLS Cup playoffs, ran through December, with a full MLS season and the Gold Cup along the way.

In total, 56 players earned at least one cap for the USMNT in 2025. Among them were several MLS-based debutants, players like Alex Freeman, Sebastian Berhalter, Matt Freese, and Max Arfsten, who went from uncapped to key figures over the course of 12 months. That fact hit many of them this offseason, which was the first time they got the opportunity to really breathe.

"I had a longer offseason, so I really got to think about that moment and enjoy it and appreciate it," Freeman told GOAL. "I had the offseason to really enjoy all of the moments I had. I think it was important for me to take everything in, everything that I couldn't before, because I had to keep going. It was good to be able to appreciate that with my family and my friends.

"2025 was a long year, a lot of games, so it is about knowing that you need to reset and spend time with family and look back with them and go, 'Wow, I did that'." 

Freeman's season ended in November with the USMNT's 5-1 loss to Uruguay. Berhalter, who joined Freeman as an MLS All-Star this summer, had to play on for a few more weeks, helping lift the Vancouver Whitecaps into the MLS Cup finale against Inter Miami. Almost exactly one month later, Berhalter was in Miami for MLS Media Marketing Day, which serves as the unofficial kickstart to preseason. 

It was during that month that Berhalter, whose first USMNT experience came during the Gold Cup, was able to finally watch back the tape of his first USMNT goal, which came in that 5-1 thrashing of Uruguay to close the 2025 international schedule.

"I ended up watching the game this offseason," Berhalter tells GOAL. "I didn't watch anything because we had big games for Vancouver, so it was a quick turnaround. I couldn't focus or dwell on anything too much. Watching it back, it was fun. It was fun to be a part of."

Pretty quickly, though, the focus shifted to 2026. Everyone had a different process, but the end goal remained the same: Be ready.

There was no specific handbook given out to players by Pochettino and his coaching staff. There were no mandatory check-ins or meal plans either. Instead, when the U.S. broke from camp in November, there was a clear message sent to the players. 

"I think the message was to take care of yourself," Freeman said. "Rest up from a long season, but also know that you have to stay in shape. It wasn't like, 'Don't eat too much!', but more 'Don't let yourself go!'. You always have to stay active. You can enjoy yourself, but make sure you stay in shape. There's an important season coming up, and things are pouring in for everyone. The player pool is big, so you never know what can happen. You have to be ready."

For many, staying ready meant not fully switching off. Ream, the team’s most senior figure, said he planned to take only a few days off before resuming his conditioning. Others, though, were navigating this for the first time, carrying heavy minutes and the added pressure of a World Cup year.

The key, though, is balance. Yes, it's important to keep in shape, but it's just as important to wind down a bit. The challenge, then, is to balance. Holiday trips are encouraged, but by the time preseason arrives, the priority is being in the right place physically. That means avoiding undertraining - and just as importantly, resisting the urge to overtrain with a long season still ahead.

"It's hard on a human level because it's really important to maintain your level without getting hurt," Roldan said. "Sometimes you push yourself so hard that you end up getting injured, and there goes your season and your hopes of making the squad. You have to treat it like any other season because, if you don't go as hard or too hard, you might get injured. That's the balance."

The offseason was different, though, for someone like Jack McGlynn. The Houston Dynamo star suffered a leg injury in the final weeks of the MLS season. As a result, his offseason was largely spent rehabbing his body and mind. In a way, it proved helpful, he says, as the injury helped him get his mind and body right in time for his preseason return.

"Obviously, it sucked being injured, but if there is a time for that to happen, it's probably during the offseason," McGlynn told GOAL. "I really only missed two games with the Dynamo. Missing the national team games obviously sucked a lot, but now it's about getting back on the field. I feel a lot bigger, a lot stronger. I put on a lot of muscle, so I'm excited."

Ream has been doing this for a while now, although the concept of an MLS offseason is still an adjustment to him after a decade playing in England. He jokes, though, that it's the hardest, but most rewarding, time of year. It's the period when he can spend more time on dad duty, handling all the things that such a responsibility entails.

"It's more work being at home," Ream joked. "It is a great thing, being a dad, but I don't get to sit down very often."

Ream, though, has found ways to stay sharp. He’s been playing at the professional level since 2010, and part of the reason he’s still performing at such a high level is his understanding of preparation - when to push, when to pull back, and how to arrive ready. Few players understand that balance better than the 38-year-old.

Same for several other veterans in the USMNT group, and those veterans do have something of a leg up due to their experience navigating this specific timeline. The MLS offseason is long and unique, but the U.S. has several players familiar with it. Miles Robinson, for example, has been doing this since 2017, which means he has plenty of experience with the key dates to hit on the way.

"For me personally, I know my body at this point," Robinson tells GOAL. "This is my 10th season in MLS, so that's 10 offseasons. I know what it takes. I try to get my body that rest because we're grinding for like 11 months straight and it's physically demanding, so I need to make sure my legs are fresh for preseason. I definitely feel fresh. You also need to put that work in so that your body feels like it's ready to get that strength back. 

"I went on a social media/phone cleanse. I left my phone at the crib for like two weeks and travelled a bit to get off my phone. At times, it feels like you're a slave to it, so I got off my phone to get right mentally. I think the game is so mental these days, so as long as you're right mentally, you can conquer a lot."

While Ream and Robinson were ready to conquer their offseason, for others, it was a long-awaited chance to breathe.

For the last few years, Paxten Aaronson hasn't really had a chance to breathe. Since making the leap to Europe with Eintracht Frankfurt, he was in a constant state of "prove it" on the club level, which resulted in a season loan to FC Utrecht. Meanwhile, he was starting to break through with the USMNT, appearing at both the Olympics and Gold Cup during Europe's summer offseason.

After signing with the Colorado Rapids this summer, though, Aaronson finally had a break after the MLS season, and, with the Rapids missing the playoffs, it was longer than any he'd had as a professional.

"The offseason was nice just to see family members and loved ones," Aaronson told GOAL. "I spent a long time apart from them, so it was nice to see them and still be able to work on my craft. There are individual things that, in a season, you can't really work on because of the demands of games and training. Getting to work with my dad, it helped me stay really fit and just sharpen up those little things.

"You're not used to it. Before, I think the most time I had off was like three weeks. Christmas break was always six days, then summer break was normally like three weeks. It was about being able to manage that because, obviously, you want to stay fit, but you don't want to train for two and a half months straight and burn yourself out for the season. It's about managing your time and knowing when. I took like two or three weeks off, then, from there, it was at least five days a week."

Matt Turner is another player who returned from Europe. In need of minutes after a tough spell in England and a wild transfer saga at Lyon, he returned to the New England Revolution this summer to fight for a World Cup spot. Like Aaronson, Turner had a longer break than he was accustomed to after several years in Europe. For him, at this point in the cycle and with where he is on the goalkeeper depth chart, he vowed to make the most of that break.

"I'd say it was good to have it because I haven't had the time off in so long and, having the World Cup looming, it kept me dialed in," Turner told GOAL. "It kept me focused and understanding that I can use this time wisely to get that extra edge. That edge is me feeling like my body is healthy, feeling like my mind is clear, and that the pathway forward is clear. It is all about being eager to get back onto the field, and that's what I feel. I'm really eager for everything to pick up and get started again, and that's a good place to be."

The World Cup is at the forefront of everyone's mind. McGlynn has the tournament logo as his phone background. Turner, Roldan, and Ream are desperate to get back after getting that experience in 2022. Under Pochettino, every player in the pool believes they have a chance. Such is the culture he's created. There aren't 30 players dreaming of a World Cup spot; there are over 50, and each believes they have a real chance of making it.

The approach to that reality is different player by player. Berhalter, for example, can't allow it to consume him. It has to be a part of the focus, not all of it.

"I'm not looking too far ahead and just taking it one day at a time and trying to get better each day," said Berhalter. "It's not any more than that. It's not this thing hanging over me; it's just taking it one day at a time and keep doing what I've been doing."

Robinson, meanwhile, admits that his view of things has shifted. In years past, he would have spent the entire offseason stressing about what was ahead. It would define his every moment. Every night, before bed, he would worry about the World Cup and what it meant for him. Now, a little bit older and a little bit more experienced, he knows that the worry serves no good; only the work does.

"For me, the offseason is all about growth," he says. "Back in the day, when I was young, I'd be super nervous [about the World Cup]. I'd be almost paralyzed with anxiety and nerves, and it was coming from a place where maybe I didn't think I was ready. Now, I know I'm ready. I'm almost calm because it's a different mentality. I feel as if I'm so prepared for the moments ahead. I'm confident in myself, more than I ever was, so that just adds a different element."

There is a sense of nervousness, though, because everyone does know what's coming. The USMNT gathers in March for the final camp before Pochettino selects his World Cup roster. That gathering comes just over a month into the MLS season. By May, the roster will be decided. There's no time to waste for any player who wants a role at the World Cup. 

For many players, the defining moments of that World Cup pursuit won't come in March or May, but rather in the quieter moments when no one was looking. The MLS offseason was more vital than ever, and how players spent that time off could end up being the difference between a dream summer and one watched on from home.