USMNT World Cup Concerns: Talent, Minutes, and Midfield Depth

Gio Reyna finally broke the spell. Ninety minutes into a lost cause for Borussia Mönchengladbach, he drifted into the box and buried his first club goal in almost 18 months. The game finished 3-1, the points were long gone, but for Reyna, that late strike felt like oxygen.

It was his first real jolt of positivity at club level in a long time. Since lighting it up for the USMNT in November, his career has been stuck in stop-start mode. Limited minutes in Germany, reduced to cameos in March’s friendlies, and very little rhythm to speak of.

And yet, his name never leaves the conversation.

Because Reyna changes games. Form or no form, he has consistently tilted the field in a U.S. shirt. The team’s best spells in recent years have often come with him on the pitch, and there are CONCACAF trophies in the cabinet that carry his fingerprints.

Still, for all his talent, he’s not the spine of this team. He’s the flourish. The extra layer. The “cherry on top” of an attacking structure that can survive without him if it has to. If he catches fire, the USMNT’s ceiling rises. If he doesn’t, there are other options in those advanced roles who can carry the load.

One of them, at least on talent, is Malik Tillman.

Tillman’s Talent, Tillman’s Minutes

No one inside the U.S. setup doubts what Tillman can do. The concern is whether he’s getting enough chances to actually do it.

Since the end of the March camp, Tillman has featured in seven matches for Bayer Leverkusen. Across those seven, he’s logged just 77 minutes. Only twice did he even crack the 10-minute mark. When the game has needed attacking thrust behind the striker, the club has turned more often to Nathan Tella and rising Algerian prospect Ibrahim Maza.

The timing could hardly be worse.

Tillman is still very much in the frame to start for the USMNT. Six goals in 1,615 minutes this season is a respectable return. But those numbers feel distant when you’re watching him enter in the 88th minute. His last goal came on April 4, a two-minute cameo against Wolfsburg that briefly reminded everyone what he can do.

For Gregg Berhalter’s staff, the question is simple: can you lean on a player whose club role has shrunk just as the World Cup approaches?

There is, at least, one major comfort in that area of the pitch: Weston McKennie.

In form and full of edge, McKennie can push higher and occupy that attacking midfield slot next to Christian Pulisic if Tillman’s lack of minutes becomes too big a red flag. It’s not the original blueprint, but it’s a credible one.

Pulisic: The Star Who Hasn’t Scored in 2026

Christian Pulisic has spoken about it more than once now. No goals in 2026. Frustrating, yes. Panic-worthy, no. His message has been consistent: what matters most is what he delivers in the biggest games this summer, not every dry spell at club level.

He’s right, to a point. But the reality is unavoidable: you want your stars humming when a World Cup rolls around, and Pulisic has not been at his sharpest this year.

The U.S. still leans heavily on him. Not as the only deciding factor in their World Cup fate, but as one of the central pillars. He’s a star, a leader, and the emotional thermostat of this group. When he plays with conviction, everyone else seems to follow.

They’ll need his goals. They’ll need his courage on the ball. They’ll need his voice.

There is still time for him to click back into gear. The window has not closed. But every scoreless week nudges the anxiety level up a notch, even if the broader context suggests the noise should not drown out the bigger picture.

Center-Back Jitters

If the attack is a question of form, center back is a question of certainty — or lack of it.

Chris Richards looks locked in. He’s the one piece in that unit that feels stable.

Everything around him? Less so.

Tim Ream brings experience, leadership, and calm. He also brings age and a recent injury that lingers in the mind. Mark McKenzie has been excellent in Ligue 1, stepping into a bigger role and thriving, but his USMNT career has included the odd lapse at brutal moments. Auston Trusty has finally found his footing in Europe with Celtic, yet with only six caps, no one truly knows how he’ll respond when the World Cup lights hit.

Then there’s Miles Robinson, still a key name but with questions about whether he can rediscover top form in time. And Noahkai Banks lurks as the wildcard, the possible late answer who could arrive, impress, and scramble the depth chart.

By this point in a World Cup cycle, most teams know exactly who they trust in the middle of the back line. The U.S. doesn’t. It may come down to who strings together a strong month when the squad is named, and who blinks.

Midfield Hit Hard: Cardoso Out, Tessmann Doubt

If center back is unsettled, midfield is where the alarm bells are loudest.

There was a strong argument that Johnny Cardoso or Tanner Tessmann — maybe even both — could start alongside Tyler Adams this summer. That debate is now over for at least one of them.

Fresh off a Champions League semifinal, Cardoso sprained his ankle. The margins were always going to be tight, but the final verdict was brutal: Atletico Madrid confirmed he would undergo surgery and miss the tournament. His World Cup is gone before it began.

Tessmann’s situation is less severe. Lyon labeled it a muscle strain, one that will keep him out for a spell but should not cost him the World Cup. Even before the injury, though, he had been drifting in and out of the starting XI in recent months, never fully locking down his spot.

Those two knocks have blown a hole in the U.S. midfield plan.

The staff still needs to find the right partner for Adams, a role that demands control, bite, and composure in big moments. Cardoso and Tessmann brought their own questions, but they had also shown real quality in Europe this season, making them among the more trusted options.

Now, the picture is murkier. The U.S. faces the very real prospect of walking into a World Cup with a midfield that feels thin, unbalanced, or both.

For all the talk about star wingers and creative No. 10s, elite teams are built from the middle. That’s where control lives. That’s where tournaments are won and lost.

And as Mauricio Pochettino prepares to name his squad, the harsh truth is this: the USMNT’s most pressing concern is not Reyna’s rhythm, Tillman’s minutes, or even Pulisic’s scoring drought.

It’s whether there will be enough trusted midfielders to make any of that attacking talent truly matter.