Diego Luna and Gio Reyna in, Max Arfsten out? GOAL’s USMNT World Cup squad picks

GOAL's picks: Matt Freese, Chris Brady, Matt Turner

In the mix: Ethan Horvath, Roman Celentano, Jonathan Klinsmann, Diego Kochen,Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen

Brady sneaks into the third spot, although Celentano and Schulte have cases as well. The focus is obviously on the top two, though, namely, which of those two starts against Paraguay in the opener and beyond.

Freese seems to be the betting favorite, and the reality is that he hasn't done anything to lose the job. While Turner has been good in MLS, Freese has certainly done enough to justify his spot as the No. 1. Because of that, we'll hand the gloves to the NYCFC star for, at the very least, the friendlies, knowing that Turner should be plenty comfortable if called upon, given his international experience and MLS form.

GOAL's picks: Sergino Dest, Alex Freeman, Mark McKenzie, Tim Ream, Chris Richards, Antonee Robinson, Joe Scally, Auston Trusty, Tim Weah

In the mix: Max Arfsten, Noahkai Banks, Tristan Blackmon, Miles Robinson, John Tolkin (injured), Walker Zimmerman

There are two unquestionable locks to start here: Richards and Robinson. Everything else is at the very least up for debate. Some of those debates may come down to friendly performance, but some of the roster decisions themselves seem pretty clear-cut.

On the left, Robinson is the guy with some combination of Weah and Dest as his backup. On the right, Dest, Weah, and Freeman can duke it out, with the Villarreal defender also in the mix to start as a pseudo-centerback, too. It's harsh on Arfsten, who has done so well all cycle and is in strong form in MLS, but we're taking Scally due to his positional versatility and defensive skillset, which is more likely to be used in a tournament setting than Arfsten's more wingback-like approach.

The race to start next to Richards remains open, with McKenzie, Trusty, and Ream all bringing obvious positives and negatives to the mix. The best option there may be to choose based on the opponent and fit for a particular game. It certainly could end up a combination of the three as well. Fortunately, there are still a few weeks to sort out that particular combination.

The wildcard here is Banks. That door may already be closed in Pochettino's mind, particularly after the Augsburg defender declined a call-up for the March camp. But if Banks calls U.S. Soccer and says he is all in, the conversation at least has to be reopened. For now, though, there is no real decision to make. If anything, Banks’ case has weakened since the March drama, as he has done little on the field to force his way back into the picture.

GOAL's picks: Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Diego Luna, Weston McKennie, Aidan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Cristian Roldan, Gio Reyna, Tanner Tessmann, Malik Tillman

In the mix: Johnny Cardoso (injured), Jack McGlynn, Yunus Musah, James Sands (injured)

Man, there are some tough calls to make here. 

Unfortunately, Cardoso's injury did make it somewhat easier to sort out the defensive midfield space, but it's still a tricky one, for sure. Adams is locked in. Tessmann, as long as his current knock isn't too serious, is, too. In terms of deeper-lying players, Morris should feel good, as should Roldan, whose leadership almost overshadows what he can do on the field, as evidenced specifically by his fall run.

Then, in the more attacking spots, Pulisic and McKennie are the presumed starters, Tillman provides creative cover, Aaronson and Luna bring energy, and Reyna remains the true wildcard - the player who could significantly raise this team’s ceiling. For all of his missteps in recent years, there is still too much in Reyna’s game to give up on. Given what happened in 2022, some will understandably wonder how he would handle a lesser role, which is likely what he would have if called in. But Reyna seems to have grown from that experience in Qatar, and it could even push him to fight harder for the chance to quiet those narratives for good.

If you haven't been counting, that leaves one spot up for grabs. Does it go to Berhalter's tenacity? McGlynn's left foot? Musah's potential? McGlynn has a real argument, to be fair, as a break-in-case-of-emergency creator that can change a game on a dime, but the reality is that, in a game scenario, the U.S. is more likely to turn to someone like Reyna or Tillman in that spot. Because of that, it goes to Berhalter, a player who, at the very least, raises the floor of the team with his competitiveness and tenacity in a deeper role.

GOAL's picks: Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright

In the mix: Patrick Agyemang (injured), Zavier Gozo, Julian Hall, Josh Sargent, Brian White, Alejandro Zendejas

Oh boy, the rising stars are making this interesting. Gozo and Hall have made real cases to be part of this group after their MLS breakthroughs, and if the goal was to keep one eye on the future, there would be a strong argument for squeezing at least one of them in as the 26th man just to give them a closer look at the World Cup experience. Unfortunately for them, this roster is not about the future. It is about the present, which means sticking with the tried and true.

Balogun is the presumed starter, Pepi is destroying the Eredivisie, and Wright just ran through the Championship en route to Premier League promotion - how do you leave one of those guys off? The answer is simple: you don't. When a position on the field seems obvious, it's best not to overthink it. We're taking the three best strikers and trusting them to do their thing at the highest level.