The USMNT players under pressure as Europe’s big soccer leagues begin new seasons

From England and Scotland to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and more, players will be working not just to win games for their clubs, but to impress U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino.

Josh Sargent (right) hasn't scored for the U.S. national team in six years even though he's a regular scorer for his club, Norwich City of England's second-tier Championship.Read moreEtienne Laurent / AP

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Aug. 15, 2025, 5:00 a.m. ET

The start of the new European soccer season also marks the starting line for the U.S. men’s soccer team’s final sprint to next summer’s World Cup.

From England and Scotland to France, Spain, Italy, Germany, and more, players will be working not just to win games for their clubs, but to impress U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino. And with only eight U.S. games left before the World Cup — two each in September, October, November, and March — every moment counts.

Here are some players to watch who are in the thick of that competition for roster spots onthe national team, including insights from former U.S. forward Herculez Gómez, now an analyst for ESPN and a podcast host on the Men In Blazers Media Network.

Josh Sargent

The 25-year-old striker from the St. Louis suburbs is a consistent scorer for Norwich City of England’s second-tier championship: 50 goals in 135 games, including 15 last season and two already this season.

Yet remarkably, Sargent hasn’t scored for the national team in six years. Injuries have been a major factor, but any player with a drought that long bears his share of blame.

“I think there’s no player that’s lost more stock with the U.S. men’s national team from one pool of players with a national team coach to another than Josh Sargent,” Gómez said. “There’s no clear cut No. 9 [starting striker], so it’s very surprising to see where he’s at today — which I fully feel is on the outside looking in.”

Brenden Aaronson

The 24-year-old midfielder from Medford, N.J., is one of just four Americans at a first-team level in the English Premier League right now. But Aaronson barely played for the U.S. this summer and didn’t make much of an impression when on the field.

At club level, Aaronson helped Leeds United win promotion back to the top flight league last season. This season, the signals are that he’s likely a bench player more often than a starter. If that proves true, how many chances will he get to change impressions of him?

“I was a big Brenden Aaronson believer, because of how much he was invested in working for the team,” Gómez said. “Usually, that investment in working for the team resulted in efficiency, resulted in goals and assists in [2022] World Cup qualifying. And anytime you have a player that’s willing to roll up the sleeves and help the team out in any way possible, and he can chip in with goals and assists, you’re like, ‘That’s a player I want on the field; that’s a player I want on the roster.’”

Pochettino has spoken highly of Aaronson, too. But that hasn’t translated to a lot of minutes in games, and the manager has shown that when he picks guys he likes, everyone else has an uphill battle.

“Whether we agree with it or not, Mauricio’s going to stick to his guns,” Gómez said. “And he’s going to say, ‘This is who I value, this is who I think will fight for me, this is who I think will be of value to the team going forward, and this is what the roster’s going to be.’ [Aaronson] is definitely one of those players that could be on the outside looking in.”

Gio Reyna

Few players in U.S. men’s history have had as much raw talent, but also caused as many headaches. Three years since the scandal over his attitude at the 2022 World Cup, Reyna is still dogged by questions about his mentality — and right now, a lot of people believe that he’s earning them.

How else do you explain why Reyna hasn’t left Borussia Dortmund even though the German club has made it clear he’s not in the plans? Pochettino has made it bluntly clear that he won’t call in players just on their reputation or club jersey, and he even named Reyna directly at the Nations League final four in March.

“When is it going to be on Gio?” Gómez said. “There’s been about four or five coaches at Dortmund who have not valued Gio. There was one at Nottingham Forest who said, ‘No thank you’ [when Reyna went on loan there last year]. There was a men’s national team coach in the Nations League final four, when he needed a goal, he looked down the bench and saw Gio and said, ‘Nah, I’m good.’ So, when is it on Gio? Why is it always on somebody else? I think Gio’s a grown man, and it’s his career.”

There is plenty of time for Reyna to turn things around in his career as a whole. But there almost certainly won’t be another World Cup on home soil to play in — or, at this rate, to miss.

“Every single player that’s played the game has had this moment, a reflection point, and I think Gio is beyond it,” Gómez said. “I think we’ve made enough excuses for Gio. And Gio to his credit has not said anything, and I’m hoping he’s trying to work. But it’s on him now.”

Mark McKenzie, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Auston Trusty

One of the few certainties with the U.S. team right now is that Chris Richards starts at centerback. Who starts next to him, though, is wide open. It’s been Tim Ream lately, but he’s 37 and his form can’t last forever.

McKenzie and Carter-Vickers have taken turns, and neither has impressed enough. Trusty was picked for the Nations League final four squad but had to drop out because of an injury and then didn’t make the Gold Cup team.

So now what — especially for Union fans who watched McKenzie and Trusty grow up here?

McKenzie is a regular starter for Toulouse, a mid-table team in France’s Ligue 1. Carter-Vickers is a regular starter for Celtic, the biggest team in Scotland but not good enough on a European level to make a real impact in the Champions League. Trusty is third on Celtic’s depth chart, sometimes a starter but more often a substitute.

“What I’ve seen from Cameron Carter-Vickers and Mark McKenzie on the national team, I wouldn’t hold my breath and say one of them absolutely needs to be there,” Gómez said.

He had Trusty on his podcast recently and discussed a range of things, including Trusty’s Delaware County roots. Between that conversation and Trusty’s level, Gómez would like to see the Media native get a shot.

“It would be one thing if I saw him play for the U.S. men’s national team and he had a bad game, and I’d say, ‘You know what? He’s not ready,’” Gómez said. “But I think he’s the one guy you’ve not given an opportunity, and you’ve not given him the benefit of the doubt. So I’m very curious and I’d love to see him.”

Johnny Cardoso

We’re going to spend some extra time on our last pick, because this 23-year-old midfielder has one of the most interesting stories of any American currently in Europe.

The North Jersey native (though Cardoso moved to Brazil with his family as an infant) spent the last year and a half at Spain’s Real Betis, one of La Liga’s perennially good teams if not quite an elite one. He played well, with highlight moments that included a goal against Real Madrid in March.

This summer, Atlético Madrid — the third-biggest team in Spain, and a Champions League regular — bought him for just under $35 million. It was one of the biggest transfer fees of all time for an American, and Atlético is one of the biggest clubs any American has ever played for.

Yet Cardoso has rarely played well for the U.S. national team in his 22 caps. It has often felt hard to believe, because his skill set should fit well next to a defensive hawk like Tyler Adams. It will feel even harder to believe if Cardoso plays well for Atlético, whose manager Diego Simeone is world-renowned for intense defense.

So what can get Cardoso to flip the switch with the U. S.?

“I think [Cardoso] needs to continue his stellar club form — that’s where his comfort zone is, that’s where his sweet spot has been,” Gómez said. “But when it comes to the national team, that’s where he’s struggled. … He’s been littered with mistakes anytime he’s played, whether it’s a small opponent or whether it’s a big opponent.”

Any player can make a mistake, of course, but mistakes are always magnified at the international level. Gómez wondered if some of that got to Cardoso’s head this summer, when a big misplay cost the U.S. a goal in a high-profile friendly against Türkiye.

“When you’re one of the most exciting La Liga prospects, and you’re a U.S. men’s national team player at the Concacaf level, and the team captain [Christian Pulisic] isn’t there, and they’re expecting you to be the guy, finally be that guy in the side of the midfield — he’s let the pressure get to him,” Gómez said. “And it’s kind of jarring to see a player who’s usually so composed in some big moments let that moment get to him.”

We also asked ESPN analyst Steve McManaman about Cardoso, because the former Liverpool and Real Madrid player will call some of Atlético’s games this season.

“He’s got a huge move, and the pressure ramps up considerably,” McManaman said. “Because from Real Betis to Atlético Madrid, apart from the size of the club and the expectations on Atlético Madrid now, they play a different style to Real Betis. So that’ll be interesting in how he adapts to that. But personally he has to step up to the mark, doesn’t he?”

Gómez ended on a positive note, with a U.S. teammate Cardoso can emulate. Malik Tillman struggled with the national team for years until something clicked in him this summer, and he was one of the best U.S. players at the Gold Cup.

“Malik Tillman, which is my hope for him, didn’t take advantage until he did,” Gómez said. “Malik took advantage this summer, albeit in a ‘B’ [level] tournament for them, but he took advantage of it. That’s what people are waiting for with Johnny Cardoso.”