Watching Tyler Adams on the field for Bournemouth against mighty Manchester City on Sunday felt like a microcosm of the U.S. men’s national team’s roller coaster current reality.
In the first half, Adams scored his first English Premier League goal against Pep Guardiola’s Sky Blues. Late in the second half, the USMNT’s beating heart of a midfielder caught a stud to the knee, forcing him to limp out of the match injured.
There was no official word on Adams’ status yet. And although the USMNT’s medical staff is “optimistic it’s not bad,” as a source texted me on Monday morning, there’s no guarantee that the 2022 World Cup captain will be available for selection when coach Mauricio Pochettino names his final roster of 2025 later this week ahead of two friendlies.
Tyler Adams and Christian Pulisic are trying to return from recent knocks. (Getty Images)
Star forward Christian Pulisic has yet to return for AC Milan since injuring his hamstring on Oct. 14 while representing the U.S. in its 2-1 exhibition win over Australia. Even if he returns for the Rossoneri for next weekend’s Serie A contest against Parma (which features Miami-born U-20 World Cup Golden Boot winner Benjamin Cremaschi), Pochettino could grant Milan’s wish to let Pulisic remain in Italy this month.
With two friendlies this month (vs. Paraguay on Nov. 15 and another on Nov. 18 against Uruguay), Pochettino’s squad is shaping up to be severely shorthanded. The absences figure to open the door for others as the countdown to the 2026 World Cup continues.
Here are the players that could make the cut when Pochettino drops the roster on Thursday:
JUMP TO: Goalkeepers | Defenders | Midfielders | Forwards
Predicted in camp (3): Matt Freese, Matt Turner, Patrick Schulte
Injured: Chris Brady
No room for: Zack Steffen, Roman Celentano, Jonathan Klinsmann, Ethan Horvath, Diego Kochen
Matt Freese remains in control for the keeper spot. (Photo by Stephen Nadler/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Although penalty specialist Freese lost on spot kicks to Charlotte in Game 2 of NYCFC’s first-round MLS playoff series (with U.S. assistant coach Miguel D’Agostino in attendance), he’ll arrive in this camp as the USMNT’s clear No. 1 even if the Pigeons fail to advance. Turner’s season is already done; the Americans’ 2022 starter and his New England Revolution didn’t qualify for the postseason, but his experience should get him an invitation. Schulte was involved last month; he and the Columbus Crew meet rival FC Cincinnati in a decisive Game 3 this weekend.
Predicted in camp (9): Noahkai Banks, Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson, Max Arfsten, Sergiño Dest, Alex Freeman, Kristoffer Lund
Injured: Antonee “Jedi” Robinson, Tristan Blackmon, Cameron Carter-Vickers
No room for: Joe Scally, DeJuan Jones, Shaq Moore, John Tolkin, Auston Trusty, Walker Zimmerman
All-world left back “Jedi” Robinson didn’t suit up for Fulham on Saturday, the fourth straight Premier League game he’s missed because of lingering problems with his surgically repaired right knee.
Jedi is still working his way back from an lingering knee injury. (Photo by John Dorton/ISI Photos/USSF/Getty Images)
Dest and Richards are locks. Ream, who has served as Pochettino’s first-choice captain, isn’t far behind. Arfsten scored the winner for the Crew on Sunday in MLS Cup playoff action and is in line to start both November games with Jedi missing.
Lund hasn’t played for the USMNT since the 2-0 loss in Mexico in October 2024, but he’s started seven of FC Köln’s nine Bundesliga games and four straight — including 90 minutes in Sunday’s 4-1 win over Hamburg.
The uncapped, 18-year-old Banks rebounded from his worst outing as a pro with a fine performance for Augsburg in last Friday’s narrow loss to Borussia Dortmund. With four consecutive Bundesliga starts, he’s in line to make his debut this month.
Meanwhile, Miles Robinson (who started against Ecuador and Australia in October) and McKenzie (who went the full 90 minutes vs. the Socceroos) should both return. And Zimmerman could have a case after helping Nashville survive Lionel Messi and Inter Miami’s furious late comeback attempt in Saturday’s series-tying 2-1 victory. Scally started for Borussia Mönchengladbach a week after serving as a sub in a 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich.
Qatar 2022 veteran Cameron Carter-Vickers suffered an Achilles injury last week that could keep the central defender shelved until after the March international window.
Predicted in camp (8): Tyler Adams, Sebastian Berhalter, Johnny Cardoso, Diego Luna, Weston McKennie, Yunus Musah, Cristian Roldan, Tanner Tessmann
Injured: Jack McGlynn, Malik Tillman
No room for: Paxten Aaronson, Benjamin Cremaschi, Gianluca Busio, Luca de la Torre, James Sands, Aidan Morris, Gio Reyna
Weston McKennie has undergone another coaching change at Juventus. (Photo by Robin Alam/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
Despite another coaching change at Juventus, McKennie kept his spot for Luciano Spalletti’s debut, going 85 minutes in a 2-1 win over Cremonese. Spalletti is the fourth full-time manager McKennie has played under in his six seasons with Juve.
The inclusion of Cardoso and Musah could seem strange; the central midfield pair aren’t playing regularly for Atlético Madrid and Atalanta, respectively. Still, the November window represents Pochettino’s last chance to see both players for four months. Cardoso, who was on Atléti’s bench this weekend for the first time since August, has been bothered by ankle issues since the Gold Cup. On Saturday, Musah was an unused substitute for the third time in four Serie A games. He’s logged just 281 minutes across all competitions this season.
Johnny Cardoso is also returning to full fitness. (Photo by Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)
However, Musah missing out this month would mean a full calendar year away from the national team for the 22-year-old who started all four World Cup games in 2022 and scored the first goal of the Pochettino era last fall. Musah and Atalanta, where he’s on loan from AC Milan, meet Tim Weah and Marseille Wednesday in the Champions League action.
Like Pulisic, Gold Cup standout Malik Tillman hasn’t played for his club since picking up a hamstring ailment of his own while on international duty. There’s no word on if Tillman will travel to Portugal ahead of Bayer Leverkusen’s Champions League tangle with Benfica on Wednesday.
The rugged Morris could benefit if either Cardoso or Musah aren’t called, having recently won back his starting job with a Middlesbrough side that is aiming for Premier League promotion.
In San Diego, Gold Cup starter De la Torre has been supplanted in former USMNT interim boss Mikey Varas’ XI by 35-year-old Panamanian Anibal Godoy for the MLS playoffs. The expansion darlings host the Portland Timbers in Sunday’s decider.
Sands had a rough outing in St. Pauli’s Bundesliga loss to Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. Reyna came off the bench for the final 11 minutes for ‘Gladbach, and has played just 131 total minutes during the 2025-26 campaign so far.
Predicted in camp (6): Brenden Aaronson, Tim Weah; Patrick Agyemang, Folarin Balogun, Ricardo Pepi, Haji Wright
Injured: Christian Pulisic, Brandon Vazquez, Brian White, Alex Zendejas
No room for: Damion Downs, Josh Sargent
Ricardo Pepi could be finally back in a USMNT camp this week. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Pepi hasn’t played for the U.S. in almost year following knee surgery, and he’s made just two starts this season for Dutch titans PSV. Yet his strike rate remains scary — the rangy striker celebrated Halloween with his fourth goal in just 372 Eredivisie and Champions League minutes this term. He also found the net in each of his three appearances under Pochettino in 2024, which the Argentine surely hasn’t forgotten.
Balogun still returns as the incumbent frontrunner for striker position after his standout performances in September and October. He also has three goals in 12 appearances for Monaco, which heads to Norway’s FK Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League on Tuesday. Wright’s a no-brainer following his spectacular brace vs. the Aussies last month.
Zendejas (knee) remains out for Mexican champion Club América. But Aaronson has earned his way back into Pochettino’s plans with a string of fine showings in the Premier League, including his first goal of the season in Leeds’ recent 2-1 win over West Ham. Could he step in for Pulisic against Paraguay for just his second USMNT start of 2025?
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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