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10. Haji Wright – Coventry City, Championship (England)
Wright sneaks into the top 10 ahead of another USMNT player who is based in England’s second tier.
Brenden Aaronson will have something to say about that, but the 26-year-old has been consistently prolific for the last three seasons. Wright bagged 29 league goals in two seasons in the Turkish Super Lig with Antalyaspor, and then he grabbed 16 in his first Championship season with the Sky Blues. He also notched three during an FA Cup campaign that took underdogs Coventry all the way to the semi-final.
He’s picked up where he left off last season with five goals in 12 league games, and he’ll hope that kind of form keeps him in the mind of Pochettino in the buildup to 2026’s world football showcase.
9. Yunus Musah – AC Milan, Serie A (Italy)
Musah hasn’t seen the field as much as he would have this season, but he’s been suiting up for high-profile European clubs for the last four years and he’s still just 21 years old.
Now in his second season with Milan after three years with Valencia in Spain, the Arsenal academy graduate has featured six times for the Rossoneri in league play this year, but he has only lined up in the starting XI once. He has one opening-day assist for his troubles.
The midfielder will want to up his minutes ahead of the biggest opportunity of his young football career, but he’s been a regular starter for the USMNT over the last two years, and he’ll only be dislodged if a remarkable talent emerges from elsewhere or his form takes a severe nosedive.
8. Josh Sargent – Norwich City, Championship (England)
At 22 years old, Sargent struggled to put his stamp on the Premier League, scoring just two in 26 games for Norwich City.
He’s finding his feet in the second tier, though, putting the ball in the net 13 times in 2022-23 and 16 times in 2023-14 (the latter coming in significantly fewer appearances).
The center forward is a vital player for Norwich as they try to return to the top flight, and his recent turn as a provider is adding a useful facet to his game. He has five assists in 12 games so far, the most he’s achieved in any season of his professional career.
That unselfishness will be so important as he tries to force his way into a U.S. side that has no shortage of attacking talent. If he can help get Norwich promoted, he can perhaps show those teething problems in England’s top flight are behind him and make a case for an international starting berth.
7. Joe Scally – Borussia Monchengladbach, Bundesliga (Germany)
Scally was one of the few USMNT players who emerged from the 2024 Copa America with credit still in the bank.
The defender was a dependable feature of a rearguard that otherwise disappointed, and his ventures forward helped to support an attacking unit that mostly floundered.
He’s been a regular starter for over three years in the Bundesliga in a number of positions, which is pretty impressive when you consider he’s still just 21 years old.
With Sergiño Dest out for the foreseeable future with a cruciate ligament tear and likely to need plenty of time to fully recover upon his return, Scally can claim the USMNT’s right-back spot as his own—and his positional versatility won’t do his chances of selection any harm, either.
6. Ricardo Pepi – PSV, Eredivisie (The Netherlands)
Pepi is slowly rebuilding his stock after a move to Augsburg in Germany nearly three years ago fell pretty flat.
He failed to score in 11 games after his January transfer, signifying to the Bundesliga side that this was just another case of a player who couldn’t bring their MLS form to the European stage.
But a successful loan stint at Groningen put him back on the radar, and he followed that up with some impressive cameos at PSV a year later. Now, after signing with the Eindhoven club permanently, he’s got five in nine games for the side at the top of the Eredivisie.
The USMNT was wise to get him capped in the early stages of his professional career, ensuring he’ll represent the Stars and Stripes at international level rather than Mexico.
In an upcoming World Cup that will be played in both nations, that will be a highly motivating factor as the player seeks to truly make his mark at the tournament.