The USMNT’s World Cup auditions are over. Now it’s time to project the tournament roster.

ATLANTA — After 24 games over Mauricio Pochettino’s 18-month tenure, the auditions are done.

The manager has seen everything he can from players in a U.S. jersey before he picks the World Cup roster in late May. Any other evidence he wants will have to come from those players’ work with their clubs.

Now the countdown is officially on to the day after Memorial Day, when Pochettino’s 26 choices are unveiled in New York. That will be their next time on a big stage on home soil.

Eighteen days and two warmup games after that, the Americans will play their World Cup opener near Los Angeles.

There aren’t many certainties right now, and the performances this month against Belgium and Portugal have made for even fewer. Some players met the moment and clinched seats on the plane, but not many.

It’s through that lens that we turn to another roster projection. The first in these pages came after the autumn set of friendlies. Now it’s time for a second, and final, version.

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The feeling of finality hangs over so much about the tournament. If one thing is certain, it’s that the time until kickoff will fly by.

This projection is broken down by the six main positions in Pochettino’s tactics: goalkeeper, outside back, centerback, central midfielder, attacking midfielder, and striker. Each position then has players who look like they’re in, those on the bubble (in alphabetical order), and a few words of analysis.

Locks: Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)

Bubble: Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Jonathan Klinsmann (Cesena, Italy), Patrick Schulte (Columbus Crew)

Analysis: After months seemingly locked in as the No. 1, is it possible that Freese suddenly now isn’t? Pochettino seemed to suggest that when he started Turner against Belgium, then said before the Portugal game that there’s “healthy competition.”

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One has to think, though, that the Wayne native’s performance against Portugal sealed his place atop the depth chart. He made three good saves and couldn’t be blamed for either goal that went past him.

Now a big question will be who takes the No. 3 spot. The fact that Brady and Celentano were called in ahead of Schulte this month raised eyebrows. Then Celentano withdrew with an injury, and Schulte was summoned. From here, Schulte deserves the nod as a potential starter in the next World Cup cycle, but it’s hard to tell whom Pochettino will pick.

Downingtown’s Zack Steffen has, sadly, fallen off the bubble. He would have had to start this season strong to gain Pochettino’s attention, but a shoulder injury that cost him two games was the final nail in the coffin.

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Locks: Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Antonee Robinson (Fulham, England)

Bubble: John Tolkin (Holstein Kiel, Germany)

Analysis: This is easy. Robinson is as locked-in as a starter can be, and Arfsten is clearly set as the backup. Though Arfsten still is overmatched in a back four, he can do the job as a wingback in front of three centerbacks. Tolkin is the emergency call, and there aren’t many other options there.

Locks: Sergiño Dest (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands), Alex Freeman (Villareal, Spain), Tim Weah (Marseille, France)

Bubble: Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany)

Analysis: This also is easy, with the caveat that Dest is currently out with a hamstring injury. He’s expected to recover in time for the pre-World Cup camp, and if he does, he’ll make the team.

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Weah is great as a right wingback next to a three-centerback line. We’ve written here that it’s the formation that suits the U.S. best and likely will again. You’ve also now seen that Weah isn’t as good as a right back next to two centerbacks, especially against elite teams with attackers who can isolate him.

The same is true of Dest, and U.S. fans must hope Pochettino sticks with the 3-4-2-1 setup on the big stage. Freeman might be a better option on a four-back line and also can play the right centerback in a trio.

Scally can play two positions too, and that versatility is what’s keeping him in the race. His performances on the field are not. He hasn’t been good enough for the U.S. and has only just cleared that bar for his club. If it was this writer’s choice, he wouldn’t go, but other players’ struggles mean the door is open.

Locks: Mark McKenzie (Toulouse, France), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace, England)

Bubble: Noahkai Banks (Augsburg, Germany), Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Auston Trusty (Celtic, Scotland)

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Analysis: Richards is the biggest certainty here, the best centerback in the U.S. pool by an increasing margin. Ream is Pochettino’s captain but can’t fight Father Time and appears to be losing a step at age 38. This is another reason a three-centerback setup helps.

McKenzie is listed as a lock partially because of how often Pochettino has played him. It sometimes seems like the Union alumnus makes one big mistake each game that overshadows other good things he does. Still, he’s at a club level that few of the others here can match with France’s Toulouse.

Trusty might have clinched a World Cup ticket with a quiet but effective performance against Portugal. Banks remains a wild card. If he commits to the U.S. program, he’s going to the World Cup. If not, Robinson and Blackmon come into the picture, with Robinson further ahead.

Walker Zimmerman fell off the bubble from the last projection, and Blackmon probably is ahead of him as the first emergency call.

Locks: Tyler Adams (Bournemouth, England), Tanner Tessmann (Lyon, France)

Bubble: Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps), Johnny Cardoso (Atlético Madrid, Spain), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough, England), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders)

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Analysis: We can’t know exactly how much better the U.S. would have been this month with Adams playing, but he undoubtedly would have helped. He makes a huge difference, and everyone will hope he avoids another injury before the summer.

Tessmann feels like Adams’ most natural partner in central midfield. Berhalter is close to a lock, thanks to his excellent set-piece and cross delivery.

But what it really comes down to is how many players Pochettino takes at the position. If it’s four, Berhalter might not have a ticket sealed yet. If it’s five, he’s likely in.

Cardoso is the biggest question, since an injury limited him to just 45 minutes of game action in March. Was it enough to prove his case? We won’t know until the roster is named.

Someone will be left out who’s good enough to go. This feels like Pochettino’s second-toughest choice. No. 1 is next.

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Locks: Weston McKennie (Juventus, Italy), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan, Italy), Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen, Germany)

Bubble: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United, England), Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach, Germany), Alejandro Zendejas (Club América, Mexico)

Analysis: Here’s where Pochettino’s toughest decisions await. How many of these players is he taking, and what kinds does he want?

Pulisic and McKennie are obvious starters. Tillman wasn’t great this month, but his talent and track record of playing time give him benefit of the doubt to stay off the bubble.

That same logic puts Aaronson on the bubble. It should not be a Philadelphia-centric view to call it strange that one of only four Americans playing regularly in the English Premier League isn’t a lock. But the Medford native has made just one national team start since Pochettino started trimming the player pool in the fall.

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This month, he didn’t play at all against Belgium, then made an 11-minute cameo when it was too late to affect the result against Portugal. Given that, it’s hard to know what Pochettino really thinks of him. It’s been said before: Aaronson doesn’t have to start, but his high pressing and passing should make him one of the bench options.

Now for what will likely be Pochettino’s toughest decision of all: Which of Reyna, Luna, and Zendejas will he cut?

Zendejas currently is the odd man out, and an oddsmaker will say he’ll stay that way. From here, it’s hard to call that the right decision when Reyna is barely playing for his club. He didn’t do much for the U.S. this month, either.

Luna wasn’t called up because he’s just back from an injury, but Pochettino loves his work ethic. He’s been in a lot of marketing, too, for a guy whose World Cup place is not assured. It has to be asked, then: What if his form cools this spring?

And in turn, what does Zendejas have to do to get respect? He proved it on the field when he scored for the U.S. in September and has been outstanding for América. If he hauls Las Aguílas to the Concacaf Champions Cup final, will that make the point? Or will the door stay shut no matter what Pochettino says about it being open?

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Locks: Folarin Balogun (AS Monaco, France), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven, Netherlands)

Bubble: Patrick Agyemang (Derby County, England), Haji Wright (Coventry City, England)

Analysis: Balogun is the obvious starter, so let’s focus on the others. Pepi likely clinched his ticket in the Belgium game with a high-pressure play that picked off a pass to set up Agyemang’s consolation goal. When a player goes that hard, despite his team losing, 5-1, in a friendly, it earns big-time brownie points.

The instinct here is that Agyemang and Wright are battling for the last spot. Four strikers feel like too many, especially with how many midfielders there are.

Agyemang might have the edge right now, but with both players in England’s second-tier Championship, Pochettino can pick whoever finishes the season with a hot hand. Wright’s stock also will improve if he helps first-place Coventry seal promotion to the Premier League.