Pressure on Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie, goalkeeper battle still open - Five takeaways from Mauricio Pochettino’s USMNT World Cup squad

Throughout the fall, it looked like the USMNT was going forward with a three-center back system. Then, in March, Pochettino threw something of a curveball, particularly in the Belgium game. Now, it's pretty clear that there will be three central defenders on the field for the USMNT. The only question left to answer is "which ones?"

Pochettino has said before that tactics are fluid and that what the outside world is so eager to define as a certain system could really be something else. That applies here. Yes, the team may have three central defenders out of possession but, in possession, one will go out wide. Maybe the team will have what looks like two full backs, but one will tuck in to make it three when defending. All of that is to say that this stuff isn't always straightforward, although the sheer amount of defenders on this roster makes it look more straightforward than before.

There is another reason Pochettino went so defender-heavy: Chris Richards. His recent injury may have given the staff some pause, particularly if the team needs three defenders on the field at any given time. If Richards is out for any number of games, there's no one who can replace him, but someone would have to try. Best to have options in that scenario.

This takeaway is also informed by the lack of midfielders, which is a takeaway in and of itself.

One of the benefits of this World Cup is the scheduling. Because of the expanded field, the group stage games are a full week apart, allowing coaches to have something close to a preferred XI without worries of fitness or short turnarounds.

So, hypothetically, if you had two European-based stars in midfield and wanted to play them every second without running them into the ground, that would be possible, right? Do you see where we're going here?

In total, Pochettino brought four central midfielders and, while it seems likely that Sebastian Berhalter and Cristian Roldan will have a part to play, there's no denying that he's leaning heavily on Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie. There's also no denying that those two are worth leaning on. They're both top, top players with the ability to impact the game in ways that complement one another.

So, when you leave players like Tanner Tessmann, Aidan Morris and even Yunus Musah at home, you're saying that this is a team built around Adams and McKennie. There's little cover if that plan goes wrong, and there's little wiggle room for a nightmare scenario that, say, sees one midfielder injured and another suspended.

In truth, there's no surviving a nightmare scenario anyway, so you can see the logic of Pochettino's best as he looks set to roll out his best players as often as possible, particularly in the midfield. Would that have changed, perhaps, if Johnny Cardoso were healthy or if Morris and Tessmann were better in March against elite competition? Maybe, but it's clear that Adams and McKennie have Pochettino's trust.

There were rumblings about the goalkeeper position but, ultimately, Pochettino went with the expected group. Naturally, that does lead to some discussion about who is going to start.

Matt Freese has been the guy throughout the last year or so and, to his credit, he's done nothing to lose that status. Pochettino, too, has done little to indicate that Freese was in danger of losing that spot. It's more likely than not that Freese starts for the U.S. in the opener against Paraguay, but the door has been left ever so slightly ajar.

That's because Matt Turner, too, is on the roster. The 2022 World Cup starter has been the best goalkeeper in MLS by a country mile this season, giving him the form and confidence he had been missing after several years on English benches. His last two USMNT appearances have resulted in a lot of goals but, by and large, those weren't his fault. Even so, they don't help his case.

So, as the World Cup closes in, there may or may not be a competition. It is, at the very least, a storyline to watch as the U.S. sort out their No. 1.

There really was no overthinking this one. The USMNT has three fit strikers scoring regularly in Europe: Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi and Haji Wright. All three are in the squad. No surprises there.

That's not always how this goes, of course. Pepi, famously, was left out in 2022. Landon Donovan, of course, missed out in 2014. If there's one position on the field that can blind a coach with a late run of form, it's this one. That didn't happen this time.

Realistically, that's because the USMNT trio didn't let it happen. All three scored and kept scoring. There was no out-of-nowhere in-form option, making the decision somewhat easy. Unfortunately, Patrick Agyemang's injury did, too, turning four contenders to three to effectively lock in the striker pool.

Those three will now duke it out for minutes this summer. It was always going in that direction, wasn't it?

Most World Cup rosters have some sort of surprise and, sure, there were some here. Alejandro Zendejas was one. Gio Reyna, it could be argued, was another. Both, though, had been involved with this team over the last few months, so was it really that shocking to see either in the 26?

In terms of shocking inclusions, there weren't really any. Noahkai Banks didn't make a U-turn onto the roster. No other dual nationals suddenly walked through the door. Young stars like Zavier Gozo, Adri Mehmeti and Julian Hall were told, "Hey, maybe next time". There was no repeat of Tim Ream riding in late to save the day like he did in 2022, although Ream himself is still obviously involved.

So, while there was drama, it was largely drama that could have been foreseen. It was choosing between established positions and established scenarios, even if those choices will shock some.