In the near future there will not be many opportunities for the national team of the United States to play against competitive opposition before they organize the World Cup.
It is what many fans, experts and former players worsened for the team when Staple stars like Christian Pulisic chose to take the field at the Gold Cup this summer.
Traditionally, the Gold Cup has been more proof of the USMNT than a representative of the best team that the United States can offer. Yet the criticism and doubts were plentiful for Mauricio Pochettino and his team for the tournament after two embarrassing defeats through Turkey in Connecticut and Switzerland in Nashville.
Fast forward to today: The USMNT is in the final of the tournament for the first time in three attempts and will be confronted on Sunday with heated Rivals Mexico in Houston.
It will not only be a second chance for Pochettino to win his first piece of silverware with the US (he lost the Concacaf Nations League earlier this year), but it will also be the last chance for some players to prove that they need to succeed in international competitive football.
Many have already (apparently) solidified their schedules for World Cup 2026. Some have played bad enough that their recording must be discussed. Others have to do work at club level to prove that they belong at the top of positional depth cards.
In: Diego Luna
If the USMNT Mexico beats to win the Gold Cup on Sunday, there is no doubt that Diego Luna should take the prize for the best player.
The 21-year-old Real Salt Lake-star had played a second division of football a few years ago with El Paso locomotive of the USL Championship. Now it would be really surprising if a healthy Luna was not selected for the World Cup schedule.
He scored his first international goal in the quarterfinals against Costa Rica and then followed that up with a winning brace against Guatemala in the semi -final. Add two assists to his count and the young Talisman of the USMNT should have been more than proven that he belongs to the roster of the next summer.
Work to do: Patrick Agyemang
The rise of Patrick Agyemang to consistent USMNT minuten is a heart -warming story. De East Hartford, Connecticut Man played Division III Ball in Eastern Connecticut State before switching to Rhode Island, a first round MLS Superdraft-Pick for Charlotte FC and is now linked to a move to Derby County.
It is a great story of perseverance and the figure of the opportunities. Unfortunately for him there can be more chances to defy.
Just like many of these positions, striker is pretty well set for the USMNT if everyone is healthy. First-choice option Folarin Balogun had a rough season in Monaco, but could easily return. PSV turned out to be a perfect landing site for Ricardo Pepi.
Add the Josh Sargeant of Norwich City and (apparently) the most undervalued attacker in the USMNT pipeline in Alex Zendejas from Club America, and it is clear that Agyemang has to keep score to push a place at a high pace.
He is capable of that is not a question. But with two goals in this Gold Cup campaign, he must continue to push to conquer that selection.
Out: Luca de la Torre
The Gold Cup is usually a tournament where inexperienced football players make their way to the World Cup grid. Luca de la Torre, the seventh most experienced member of this Gold Cup team, may have played his way.
Although the arguments for 'work to do' or even the next person could be on the 'out' list, it cannot be denied that the signing of San Diego FC looked the most maximum place of someone in this schedule.
Midfield becomes a difficult position to present a selection. Tyler Adams, Weston Mckennie and Yunus Musah will probably come back to their role from 2022. Luna, as we said, will challenge that hegemony. Others such as Johnny Cardoso and Brenden Aaronson could also see the schedule.
So when they are confronted with the opportunities to show his best, De La Torre simply did not deliver. His performances in the 1-0 win to Saudi Arabia and the 2-1 victory against Guatemala leave a lot to be desired.
Given the depth in the middle of the field, it is not difficult to imagine that De La Torre is left behind.
In: Malik Tillman
There is a good reason why Malik Tillman is about to move to Bayer Leverkusen and he has shown that all the tournament long.
It is not as Tillman's place in the World Cup -Roster was seriously in doubt, but his versions for the USMNT showed how crucial he can be.
With three goals and two assists in five games – including two men of the competition performances – Tillman could be vital for Pochettino next summer.
Work to do: Matt Freese
Freese will be in the schedule for the World Cup 2026, unless injury. He played decently in the Gold Cup to guarantee that. Where the work lies is his role for next summer, because the starter place is currently wide open for the USMNT.
Freese has been a net decent in this Gold Cup. Dramatic mistakes in the game against Haiti were succeeded by penalty shootout -heroism against Costa Rica.
The only thing that remains is to continue his strong club season with New York City FC – where he admitted 20 goals in 17 games while holding six clean sheets.
Whether or not that is sufficient to ward off the efforts of Columbus Crew keeper Patrick Schulte or the currently intervening clubs Matt Turner (who both have more experience in the network before the US) can still be seen.
Work to do: Max Arfsten
Max Arfsten is a mystery. Looking at the fullback in person shows his tendencies to aggressively push high on the wing and how it generates a big attack.
You also clearly see how far he must follow to play defense. Arfsten's pushes the field, can often lead to exposure to the flanks that have hurt the USMNT.
That Costa Rica competition was the essence of what makes Arfsten great – and what he should improve. After giving up a fine on an awkward tackle to go 1-0, he helped Luna's equalizer and then scored one of his own to take a 2-1 lead.
But after his versions, left back can be a luxury position – with PSV's Sergino Dest and Borussia Monchengladbach's Joe Scally as top options as healthy. He should really shine for Columbus Crew for the rest of the season to bump one of them.
Out: Tim Ream
As much as there is depth in the middle back that would push the Ream out of a world cup place, he simply was not the best in this tournament.
His death was fine, except when that is not the case. The only goal of Haiti scored is just as much Ream's fault as Freese's. Of course, the keeper hit a bad ball, but Ream ran himself out of position – led directly to the turnover and forced Chris Richards to make a fateful attempt to cover Don Louicius.
Ream's performance in the Costa Rica game did not held favors either. The second goal is thanks to his lack of effort to discuss the Rebound of Freese and then not to mark his husband well enough to prevent a pass that leads to the equalizer.
For a man who has publicly proclaimed the doubters of the USMNT and said 'shame about them', Ream has not exactly been an A+ student when it comes to calming those fears.
Only from the performance of this tournament is going, and with a lot of depth in the middle that is able to fulfill bank roles, it would be really surprising if Ream – who would be 38 in 2026 – would make the World Cup schedule.
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