Mauricio Pochettino took pains to stipulate the United States men’s national team roster revealed Tuesday was not necessarily the same as the final roster he would select for the historic 2026 World Cup, which begins in less than three months on home soil.

Then, in another breath, the USMNT head coach described the pair of high-profile, measuring-stick friendlies against Belgium and Portugal later this month as “for me, World Cup games.”

And the roster he put together for those games — the next-to-last before perhaps the most consequential roster in US men’s soccer history — has Gio Reyna’s name on it.

Reyna, the mercurial midfielder whose USMNT tenure has been marked by ups and downs and behind-the-scenes family drama involving his parents and former coach Gregg Berhalter, received a major boost to his chances of making the World Cup roster by being selected among the 27 players gathering next week in Atlanta.

Reyna was a standout in the November international window, scoring a goal in a win over Paraguay and adding an assist in a stunning win over Uruguay. But the 23-year-old has played just 26 minutes for his club in Germany in 2026 and none in the past two months.

“We really know that it’s a talented and very special player,” Pochettino said. “And I think to give the possibility, even if [he is] not playing too much in his club, it can be very useful for us.”

Antonee Robinson, the first-choice fullback known as “Jedi,” also was included after having been sidelined for much of the past year due to knee issues.

Starting midfielder Tyler Adams, starting right back Sergiño Dest and forward Haji Wright will be absent due to injuries. The notable omissions include midfielder Yunus Musah and forward Josh Sargent (both of whom started at the 2022 World Cup), as well as Alejandro Zendejas and Diego Luna.

“It’s painful for me and for us to make the decision, but it’s going to be expensive to get to 26,” Pochettino said, referring to the World Cup roster limit. “Because the competition is big, the pool is massive.”

Chris Brady and Roman Celentano, a pair of MLS-based goalkeepers, are this month’s roster newcomers, presumably behind No. 1 Matt Freese and Matt Turner on the depth chart.

Noahkai Banks, a talented 19-year-old defender who plays professionally in Germany, was not named to the roster. Banks is eligible to compete for the US as well as Germany, and he has yet to commit to one national team.

“We are very focused on him because we follow him,” Pochettino said. “We hope, for USA, that the decision will be for our side.”

Now, many of these decisions are happening at the margins of the roster. What matters more for the United States’ hopes of making a lasting run at the World Cup is the form of headliners such as Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie.

Though Pulisic has seen his goals dry up for AC Milan, Pochettino said: “It’s not only to score goals. I’m happy with him in the way that he is performing, the way that he’s committed with the team.”

McKennie, left out of the fold back in November, has been excelling in a multipositional role with Italy’s Juventus.

“Juventus is Weston McKennie plus 10,” Pochettino said. “We’re so happy for that.”

They’ll be tentpoles of the final 26 set to vie for an American soccer breakthrough this summer, what Pochettino called “the right 26.” And Reyna took a step closer to joining them.

Here is the full roster, listed with their club teams:

Goalkeepers (4): Chris Brady (Chicago Fire), Roman Celentano (FC Cincinnati), Matt Freese (New York City FC), Matt Turner (New England Revolution)   

Defenders (9): Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew), Alex Freeman (Villarreal/ESP), Mark McKenzie (Toulouse/FRA), Tim Ream (Charlotte FC), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace/ENG), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati), Joe Scally (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), Auston Trusty (Celtic/SCO) 

Midfielders (8): Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps/CAN), Johnny Cardoso (Atletico Madrid/ESP), Weston McKennie (Juventus/ITA), Aidan Morris (Middlesbrough/ENG), Gio Reyna (Borussia Mönchengladbach/GER), Cristian Roldan (Seattle Sounders), Tanner Tessmann (Olympique Lyon/FRA); Malik Tillman (Bayer Leverkusen/GER)

Forwards (6): Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United/ENG); Patrick Agyemang (Derby County/ENG), Folarin Balogun (Monaco/FRA), Ricardo Pepi (PSV Eindhoven/NED), Christian Pulisic (AC Milan/ITA), Tim Weah (Olympique Marseille/FRA)