Cristian Roldan has been selected by Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino in the USMNT’s 26-man World Cup squad, the USMNT announced on May 26. The 30-year-old midfielder will now have another opportunity to compete for a World Cup appearance. Days before the official announcement, the public already learned Pochettino’s World Cup squad, as it was first obtained and reported by The Guardian.
“He deserves it. He earned it,” said Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer on Roldan’s reported call-up, after the LAFC game, days before the announcement.
Roldan was previously called up to the USMNT’s 2022 FIFA World Cup squad in Qatar, where he was selected in a primarily younger squad. At the time, he was roughly two years older than the average age of that USMNT squad, which was 25 years and 175 days old. Despite Roldan’s reputation as a seasoned player in both club and country, he did not make a World Cup appearance under Gregg Berhalter. However, his value was recognized by Berhalter, where Roldan’s presence in the locker room and at training was seen as a valuable asset to the squad.
Photo: Ryan Hampton / House of Sounders
Now under Pochettino, Cristian Roldan will have at least one more opportunity to play in the World Cup and have an impact directly on the field.
The USMNT transformed over the course of Roldan’s career. His first cap for the US National Team came in 2017 against Martinique in the CONCACAF Gold Cup, during a period when Christian Pulisic was emerging as a star player for club and country, before Weston McKennie had broken into the senior national team spotlight, and MLS-based players still had a major influence in the squad. Unlike now in 2026, most of the core USMNT squad plays in Europe.
Roldan later played a key role during in the United States’ 2021 Gold Cup campaign. Since he joined the Seattle Sounders in 2015, Roldan became a CONCACAF Champions Cup/League winner, Leagues Cup winner, and a two-time MLS Cup Champion.
