USMNT player ratings: Did anyone impress in last chance to make World Cup squad?
And with that — a lackluster 2-0 defeat to world no. 6 Portugal — the USMNT has played its final game before Mauricio Pochettino will name his 26-man squad for the 2026 World Cup this summer.
MORE — World Cup group stage schedule | Ranking the kits | World Cup odds
While much of the squad has been penciled in for months years now, a number of roster spots are still up for grabs. If the World Cup started tomorrow (assuming full health), three starting spots are unclaimed (center back, central midfield and right wing) and two more (right back and defensive midfield) are all but reserved for frequently injured stars in Segino Dest and Tyler Adams — neither of whom were in the March squad due to injury. Pochettino has at least a half-dozen either-or choices to make regarding the depth of the squad.
USMNT player ratings vs Portugal
Matt Freese - 6.5: Not much he could have done on either of Portugal's goals as both were placed pretty well to the far post, but he did make one confident save against Bruno Fernandes in the first half.
Alex Freeman - 5.5: Lost possession upfield which led to a wide open counter for the first goal and only played the ball into the final third once. If "overzealous attacking full back" is the role he's been called to play, this team could really use some lung-busting runs forward.
Chris Richards - 6: Did all he could to close down Bruno Fernandes for the first goal, but the midfield was too slow to get back and left the trailing runner unmarked.
Auston Trusty - 6.5: Couldn't get back into position defensively on the first goal (not his fault for being caught out) with two attackers overloading the left side as soon as Freeman turned the ball over, but it's the kind of heroic play you would hope that some center back in the pool might make anyway out of sheer desperation. Jury's still out on that one.
Antonee Robinson - 6: Still finding his way back to sharpness after missing time with knee and ankle injuries this season, there is little worry that Robinson will be ready come summer, and that's great news because both Fulham and the USMNT are completely different sides when he is 100 percent, rather than 70 or 80.
Aidan Morris - 7: Tidy with the ball in midfield and regularly looked to pass the ball forward, but the options weren't great. If he makes the World Cup squad, he'll be an interesting late-game option.
Weston McKennie - 5: Attempted just eight passes and one shot in 45 minutes of action, with zero defensive contributions (tackles, blocks, clearances, interceptions or recoveries) and won just 1-of-4 duels. Has to make a greater impact, across the board.
Sebastian Berhalter - 6: A bit of a feast-or-famine player, which is great when you're one of the best, most dominant teams in the world and have loads of possession, but when the remit is "make the most of what little you have," the negatives tend to outweigh the positives — by quite a bit.
Timothy Weah - 5.5: The idea is for Weah to stretch opponents out on the counter and threaten their defense with runs in behind, but the midfield trio only attempted three long balls all night (all successful). Not much else for him to do other than chase the ball around out of possession.
Malik Tillman - 6: The USMNT has a surplus of central midfield options (mostly defensive) and a real dearth of wide attackers at the moment, so it's understandable that Pochettino might see Tillman as a potential solution to the latter (better to try things now than this summer), but he's better at combination play in tight spaces and brings a front-foot mentality to the midfield that is sorely lacking in confident ball progressors.
Christian Pulisic - 5.5: To state the obvious, he's not a center forward and was fairly ineffective when deployed as one (whatever the reason). The fact he hasn't scored a goal in 2026 would be nightmare fuel for USA fans, if he didn't have a history of still showing up and showing out for the USMNT during various low points in his club career.
