The holiday season sees players on the U.S. men's national team in wildly different parts of their respective campaigns. The halfway mark of the European club season has just about arrived. Some competitions -- like the Premier League -- power through the festive period, while others are about to take a short break. Meanwhile, Major League Soccer has gone into hibernation, with Liga MX about to conclude its Apertura campaign.
There is no rest, however, for the players, especially with a certain AC Milan attacker showing not even the flu can slow him down.
Throughout the season, ESPN will be monitoring the progress of the player pool, delivering insights into those whose form or fitness has made them particularly intriguing. We call it the USMNT's countdown to the 2026 World Cup.
ESPN will count down to June 11 every week. When the U.S. team is announced for this highly anticipated World Cup on home soil, no names on that 26-man roster will come as a surprise. Only 183 days to go.
Christian Pulisic | Attacker | AC Milan
2025-26 minutes: 550
2025-26 FotMob rating: 7.7
Form and fitness make Pulisic a surefire starter
The past few months have been a bit stop-start for Pulisic. There was the hamstring injury in October that saw him miss about a month, as well as another muscle injury that forced him to miss the 1-0 win against Lazio on Nov. 29. Then there was his recent illness, which Pulisic said left him feeling "dead" just a day before Monday's match with Torino.
Pulisic went on to deliver his own version of the "Flu Game," albeit one without as much at stake as the Michael Jordan-inspired version. And he was immense, entering Tuesday's match in the 66th minute and scoring less than a minute later. He then tallied the game winner 10 minutes later to lead Milan to a 3-2 win and move back atop the Serie A standings, and Pulisic's seven goals in 2025-26 are tied with Inter Milan's Lautaro Martínez for the most in Serie A.
The impulse to protect Pulisic in bubble wrap between now and June is strong, but so long as he maintains his current health and form, USMNT fans will be content with him tearing it up for Milan. And as much as U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino abhors the whole starter/reserve characterization, Pulisic's current level makes him one of the few surefire starters in the USMNT lineup.
Noahkai Banks | Center back | FC Augsburg
2025-26 minutes: 713
2025-26 FotMob rating: 6.7
Is Banks a surprise pick in defense?
For most players, progress is usually of the sawtooth variety: a few ticks up, followed by a step down. So it has gone for Banks. The 19-year-old suffered through a difficult outing in Augsburg's 3-0 defeat to TSG Hoffenheim on Nov. 28, but enjoyed a bounce-back performance the following week in a surprising 2-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen. Through it all, it's fair to say Banks has become a mainstay in the Augsburg lineup, having started the club's past nine league matches.
How does all of this factor into the USMNT picture?
Banks is certainly helping his cause, and while the Bundesliga's winter break is slated to begin on Dec. 21 and last until around Jan. 9, he'll have plenty of opportunities to impress prior to the next international window in March. Banks will have some players to climb over, even with Celtic's Cameron Carter-Vickers sidelined with an Achilles injury, but Pochettino is known to be an admirer, meaning Banks' window of opportunity remains slightly open.
Josh Sargent | Forward | Norwich City
2025-26 minutes: 1,772
2025-26 FotMob rating: 7.0
Sargent finally gets back on the score sheet
Some good news has finally made its way to Sargent. The Norwich City striker scored on a fantastic diving header against Watford. Although the Canaries ended up losing, 3-2, it was Sargent's first goal since an Aug. 30 brace against Blackburn Rovers. This comes on top of Sargent notching an assist in the previous week's 3-1 win over Queens Park Rangers, breaking a 13-match winless streak.
To be clear, Sargent's dry spell means he remains in the basement when it comes to the USMNT depth chart. The likes of AS Monaco's Folarin Balogun, PSV Eindhoven's Ricardo Pepi, Coventry City's Haji Wright, and Derby County's Patrick Agyemang are all positioned above Sargent at the moment (more on that in a moment). But the Norwich forward needed to start somewhere, and last weekend's goal is as good a place as any.
The in-form XI
History was made in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday. After squandering some opportunities, Balogun scored the only goal of the match in his side's 1-0 win over Galatasaray. The tally marked the third consecutive game that Balogun had scored in the Champions League, a first for an American. He now has 10 goals on the season for club and country.
Balogun wasn't the only American to find the net either. Pepi also scored, albeit in a losing effort as PSV fell to Atlético Madrid, 3-2. While the competition for spots on the USMNT remains fierce, Balogun continues to keep his competitors at arm's length, and his work rate and mobility -- in addition to his finishing -- should help him stay there.
When it comes to Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie, you can count his club manager, Luciano Spalletti, among the converted.
"It's a strong person who makes a strong footballer. McKennie has this attitude, this way of meeting you halfway, like he's saying: 'You ask, I'll do,'" Spalletti said prior to last weekend's match against Napoli. "He starts and becomes effective; you can tell he faced his fears when he was young because to become brave, you have to face what scares you. He tries plays that wouldn't normally be a part of his repertoire, but he still tries them."
Spalletti is the fifth permanent manager McKennie has had since he arrived in Turin in 2020, and it seems like the U.S. midfielder has rarely been given the benefit of the doubt. Some of that was down to McKennie's inability to maintain the requisite fitness, but this campaign has seen him conquer those concerns. He remains Juventus' Swiss Army knife, and even popped up for the opening goal in Juve's 2-0 win over Pafos in the Champions League.
The question remains: Where does McKennie fit into the national team? He's logged plenty of minutes at wing back for Juve this season, but that position is relatively well stocked for the U.S., with Sergiño Dest, Tim Weah, Alex Freeman and Max Arfsten all vying for minutes. That leaves either the central midfield role alongside Tyler Adams, or does he occupy one of the more attacking midfielder spots in tandem with Pulisic?
For now, the attacking midfield spot seems a good fit for McKennie. While he is definitely a two-way player, his skill set tilts more on the attacking side of things, and he showed well alongside Malik Tillman in the 1-1 draw against Ecuador last October. But the competition for that spot is stiff. In addition to Tillman, there is Borussia Mönchengladbach's Gio Reyna, América's Alejandro Zendejas and Real Salt Lake's Diego Luna all competing for time.
Much will depend on how aggressive Pochettino wants to be in a particular match going forward. If he wants more creativity on the field, he could slide McKennie back into midfield. If he opts for a more defensive stance, Tanner Tessmann could be the man to partner Adams with McKennie further forward.
There are scenarios where McKennie could be the man to come off the bench. Given his willingness to sacrifice for the team, the possibilities are endless. What's known is that McKennie's performances at club level have him firmly in the World Cup roster mix.