Alejandro Zendejas Joins United States' 26-Man World Cup Roster
alejandro zendejas is back in Mauricio Pochettino’s 26-player World Cup roster. He was included Tuesday after missing the March call-up because of a knee injury suffered in the fall.
Pochettino’s 26-Man Group
Pochettino named a 26-player United States squad, and Zendejas made the cut as one of the attacking options. That return gives the roster another MLS-eligible winger after a selection that included only eight players from Major League Soccer and no MLS attacker.
Gio Reyna and Sebastian Berhalter were also included. Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann were left out, which trimmed the midfield group while keeping the roster balanced around players coming from outside MLS.
Zendejas After the Fall Injury
Zendejas’ path back to the roster runs through the knee injury he suffered in the fall. That setback kept him out of the March call-up, so Tuesday’s selection ends a brief absence from the national team picture.
He returns at a moment when the United States has only eight MLS players on the 26-man list. With no MLS attacker selected, his place matters because it adds one more wide option to a group built mostly from overseas clubs.
Roster Shape Around MLS
The shape of the squad shows how narrow the domestic player pool was in this selection. Eight MLS players made it, but none were attackers, leaving Zendejas as the most direct MLS-based offensive presence on the roster.
Sergiño Dest, Tyler Adams and Haji Wright also returned after missing March friendlies because of injuries. That gives Pochettino a larger set of available names than he had in March, while the absences of Luna and Tessmann show that the final 26 still came with hard cuts.
For Zendejas, the immediate change is simple: he is in, and he is back in the mix after March. For the United States, the roster now carries one more winger who was unavailable when the last round of call-ups was made.
