Mauricio Pochettino’s choices are set.The U.S. men’s national team manager has picked the 26-man squad that, barring injury over the next couple of weeks, will be tasked with taking on the weight of expectation as a World Cup cohost. Despite Pochettino previously claiming there’s no such thing as a “regular” on his team, the usual suspects are mostly on their way to camp, where final tune-ups against Senegal (May 31) and Germany (June 6) precede the World Cup group stage and matches against Paraguay (June 12), Australia (June 19) and Turkey (June 25).Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Tim Weah, Folarin Balogun, Antonee Robinson and Sergiño Dest are among the many chosen names that most expected Pochettino to select. The manager did have to make some tough calls on the fringes of the squad, though, and that meant leaving out some seemingly deserving players or others who had previously been in Pochettino’s good graces. Injuries also played a part in Pochettino’s squad selection, with two players in particular being robbed of a home World Cup.The next couple of months are centered on who will be representing the U.S. at the World Cup, but let’s take a look at those who were among the closest to getting the career-changing call, only to come up short:The top snubsDiego Luna, Real Salt LakeLuna became the poster child for Pochettino’s USMNT early on when he resumed playing after breaking his nose in a 2025 January camp friendly vs. Costa Rica, assisting on a goal and instantly putting himself in the manager’s favor. “Big balls” was the nickname Pochettino bestowed on the rising star. Luna represented the U.S. in 17 of 18 matches in 2025, including at the Concacaf Gold Cup, where he tied for the team lead in goals with Malik Tillman (three apiece).An injury slowed the 22-year-old’s start of his 2026, but he had emerged for RSL with four goals and three assists in just over 600 minutes this season. After featuring heavily in the U.S.’s 2026 World Cup kit reveal and marketing campaign — he won’t be on the field in stoppage time of the World Cup final vs. Brazil for that Christian Pulisic corner kick after all — he figured to be in the final 26. Gio Reyna and Alejandro Zendejas were preferred as the potential final-third difference-makers instead. He’s young enough that the opportunity could arise again in 2030.Tanner Tessmann, LyonTessmann’s snub is probably the biggest shock on a squad otherwise devoid of a true stunner. Never mind the fact that he had felt like a player who wasn’t even fully on the fringe of the squad, but Johnny Cardoso’s injury made the defensive midfield depth chart behind Tyler Adams quite dicey and figured to secure Tessmann’s place. He was being discussed as a potential starter next to Adams – not a potential cut.On top of all of that, he played a bit at center back for Lyon, offering the type of roster flexibility that typically strengthens a player’s World Cup case. While a muscle injury cut his season with Lyon short, he was said to be fully fit for the World Cup. At 24, he’s also young enough to be around for the next cycle, but this roster cut will hurt.Aidan Morris, MiddlesbroughWhat a brutal few days for Morris, a double whammy of Boro falling at the final hurdle in the club’s quest for promotion to the Premier League, plus his omission from the squad. With Cardoso out injured and Tessmann unselected as well, the cupboard at defensive midfield is rather bare, and any injury or suspension to Adams likely forces Pochettino to deploy McKennie deeper back or someone else out of position. That’ll be of little comfort to Morris, who, like Luna and Tessmann, still figures to be in the mix for the 2030 cycle, as he’s only 24.Yunus Musah, left, was pushed out of the USMNT picture beginning last summer (Marco Luzzani / Getty Images)Plummeted off the radarYunus Musah, AtalantaIf, after the end of the USMNT’s 2022 World Cup run, you were asked to pick the core of the 2026 squad, Musah would’ve likely been one of the first names listed. And why wouldn’t he have been? At 19, he was a top performer for the U.S. in Qatar, where he memorably held his own against Jude Bellingham and England. But his club career stalled — his loan to Atalanta this season was a complete whiff — and when he asked out of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup last summer, that seemed to put him in Pochettino’s doghouse for good. To that end, he hasn’t been called in since.