Personally, I wouldn\u2019t be, and I\u2019d call Banks if he\u2019ll come. (The friendlies would not cap-tie him.) But something Pochettino said way back in November 2024, when asked about dual nationals, stuck with me: \u201cWe don\u2019t need to convince [players]. A player needs to want to play for the national team. \u2026 [He] needs to be desperate, needs to show that we need him. Because if not, we are a weak federation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tenorio: I have to echo everything Henry said above about Banks, a player Pochettino was clear about wanting to recruit but whose very fair hesitation at committing to a national team before he is ready puts a big question mark around this position group. There are not a ton of options here if Banks doesn\u2019t come. Could we see Tristan Blackmon or Walker Zimmerman sneak into the team for a last-chance audition to make the World Cup roster? I think Alex Freeman\u2019s ability to play on the right side of the U.S.\u2019s hybrid back three means Pochettino brings one fewer center back with Scally and Freeman providing depth at multiple spots.<\/p>\n
Fullbacks\/wingbacks<\/p>\n
Tenorio: Tim Weah, Alex Freeman, Max Arfsten, Antonee Robinson
Bushnell: Tim Weah, Alex Freeman, Max Arfsten, Antonee Robinson<\/p>\n
Bushnell:\u00a0Robinson\u2019s situation remains murky. He seemed to be working his way back from the lingering knee problem; then he sank back to Fulham\u2019s bench. He went over a month without a single Premier League minute \u2014 until he started and went 90 against West Ham last Wednesday. (He was then back on the bench this past weekend.) Fulham coach Marco Silva said, at one point, that Robinson \u201cfelt something in his ankle\u201d and \u201cwasn\u2019t feeling 100 percent,\u201d which explained at least one absence. But on multiple occasions, he\u2019s been in the matchday squad \u2026 and an unused sub.<\/p>\n
For the USMNT\u2019s March camp, his status depends entirely on health, and whether a week of rest might be more beneficial than minutes.<\/p>\n
Tenorio: I think we see Robinson in this camp, even if it\u2019s in the same way we saw him in October, when he was part of the team in Austin but didn\u2019t play and flew home early. The U.S. staff needs time with Robinson and a chance to evaluate his health. Sergi\u00f1o Dest\u2019s injury<\/a> gives Poch a chance to evaluate Weah at right back.<\/p>\n Bushnell: Prior to Dest\u2019s injury, I had Scally on the outside looking in. Now I think Scally will likely be in camp, even though he and Dest are polar opposites as players.<\/p>\n \n Tim Weah could become the USMNT\u2019s solution at right wingback in Sergi\u00f1o Dest\u2019s absence (Dustin Bradford \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n Central midfielders<\/p>\n Tenorio: Tyler Adams, Tanner Tessmann, Johnny Cardoso, Aidan Morris, Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Roldan Bushnell:\u00a0Cardoso surely has to be in Atlanta. He\u2019s back to full health, starting regularly and playing reasonably well for Atl\u00e9tico Madrid, the freakin\u2019 third-best team in the world\u2019s second-best league. I know he\u2019s been a national team enigma, and I\u2019m not saying he has to be on the World Cup roster\u2026 but Pochettino and staff at least have to call him in March and take a long, up-close look.<\/p>\n Unrelated: I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if a player like Roldan, whom Pochettino now knows he can trust, and who is still in early-season form, is left off the March roster. If so, it doesn\u2019t necessarily mean he\u2019s on the outside looking in at the World Cup. He could be left off in March to make room for someone like Yunus Musah.<\/p>\n Tenorio: Cardoso and Morris are the players getting one more chance to make an impression at the national team level, and this would be a huge test for them. With the U.S. playing twice in just four days, it means there is going to be heavy rotation. If Adams and Tessmann start in game one, it means two of Cardoso, Berhalter, Roldan and Morris, will likely start in Game 2. Cardoso has never looked sure of himself when playing with the U.S., but he\u2019s running out of time to make a claim on a World Cup spot. Morris has been in great form for Middlesbrough. Is it enough to get him in the World Cup mix?<\/p>\n Attacking midfielders<\/p>\n Tenorio: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Brenden Aaronson, Malik Tillman![\"USMNT's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2241105738-scaled.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Bushnell: Tyler Adams, Tanner Tessmann, Johnny Cardoso, Sebastian Berhalter, Cristian Roldan<\/p>\n
Bushnell: Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Brenden Aaronson, Malik Tillman<\/p>\n
![\"Christian](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/GettyImages-2234064449-scaled.jpg\")
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