Pochettino Backs Reyna, Leaves Luna Off USMNT World Cup Roster

The United States men's national team squad for the 2026 World Cup will include Gio Reyna and omit midfielder Diego Luna, according to multiple reports published on May 23, 2026. The roster — finalised ahead of the tournament the United States co-hosts with Canada and Mexico starting June 11 — marks one of the more consequential selection decisions for head coach Mauricio Pochettino, whose tenure has been defined by the tension between rewarding form and managing the personalities of a squad built around top European clubs.

The Reyna inclusion, in particular, settles a question that has shadowed the build-up: whether the 22-year-old Borussia Dortmund midfielder's persistent fitness struggles and intermittent tension with national team setups would count against him. Reports indicate they did not. Luna's exclusion, by contrast, is the more analytically interesting call. The 21-year-old, who plays for Real Salt Lake in MLS, has been one of the more dynamic attacking midfield prospects in the American player pool over the past two years. That he did not make the cut suggests Pochettino has settled on a more conservative profile for the role — or that the tournament's compressed timeline has pushed the coaching staff toward players whose profiles are more legible under pressure.

Luna's Omission and the Midfield Calculus

The selection of a World Cup squad is rarely a clean merits argument, and this one is no exception. Luna has produced at a level that would, in most cycles, guarantee consideration. His ability to receive under pressure, drive at defences, and play between the lines has made him one of the more naturally creative presences in the U.S. player pool. The fact that he does not play in Europe — in a league where Pochettino's scouts spend most of their time — may have influenced the weight placed on his case relative to players operating in higher-intensity environments week to week.

The reports do not specify what alternatives Pochettino favoured in that attacking-midfield slot. What is clear is that the head coach did not view Luna's profile as the best fit for the role he intends to fill in his preferred system. Whether that system demands more defensive discipline, more positional variety, or simply a different body type is not yet fully explained in the available reporting. What is certain is that Luna, at 21, will carry this omission into the next cycle, when the squad's composition will be shaped by entirely different pressures.

Reyna's Path Back to the Roster

Reyna's selection carries a different kind of weight. He is, by any measure, one of the most naturally gifted players available to this team. He is also a player who has repeatedly run into obstacles — injuries, squad dynamics, and the inevitable friction that comes when a young player operates at the intersection of high expectations and limited opportunity. That he is going to a home World Cup as an active squad member rather than a footnote is, for the U.S. programme, a meaningful resolution.

The reports describe Reyna's inclusion as consistent with Pochettino's stated commitment to picking players who demonstrate commitment to the team. The phrasing is deliberate: the Argentine coach has made clear that his selections are not automatic, and that roster places must be earned through performances and behaviour inside the setup. Reyna's presence suggests the Dortmund midfielder has satisfied whatever conditions were applied.

Stakes for a Host Nation

The United States enters this World Cup in an unusual position. As a co-host, it has no qualifying campaign to navigate and no external benchmark against which to calibrate its readiness beyond friendlies and the limited data those matches provide. The squad that takes the field on June 11, against an opponent yet to be confirmed, will be one assembled under that peculiar pressure — the pressure of a home tournament where expectations are diffuse but real, and where early failure would carry a specific kind of reputational cost.

The midfield, as currently constructed, looks functional rather than spectacular. The Reyna inclusion adds genuine quality; the Luna omission removes a variable. What Pochettino does with the remaining minutes — who starts, who comes off the bench, how he manages the rhythm of games in a group stage where the U.S. will need results — will determine whether this squad's composition proves prescient or costly.

What Remains Unclear

The sources consulted do not specify the full squad composition, the final roster size, or the basis on which Luna was specifically passed over in the attacking-midfield position. The broader tactical reasoning behind Pochettino's choices — why the profile he selected in that role matters for this tournament specifically — has not yet been reported in detail. Readers following this selection will want to watch for the official roster announcement, expected in the coming days, which should settle the specifics the wire reports have only partially confirmed.

Desk note: The wire framing centred on Reyna's rehabilitation as a selection story and Luna as a surprise omission. Monexus treated both as interlocking parts of a single squad-building logic rather than isolated decisions, and avoided language that framed Luna's exclusion as self-evident when the available reporting does not fully explain the coaching decision.

Wire provenance

This editorial synthesis draws on the following public wire/social posts:

• https://t.me/amitsegal/2760