The World Cup is around the corner, and the USMNT knows it. With their debut on June 12 against Paraguay, Mauricio Pochettino is finalizing the last details of the 26-player list that will represent the United States in soccer's biggest stage.
When the Argentine manager unveiled the official roster, many fans were stunned to discover that Diego Luna, Real Salt Lake’s attacking standout and a recent pillar for the USMNT, was left off the squad.
However, there is still a window for Luna to be part of the 2026 World Cup roster and play with the US team.
How can Diego Luna still earn a spot on the 26-man World Cup squad?
There is a gray area in World Cup regulations regarding the 26-player roster. Teams can add players who were not initially selected, as long as they appear on the preliminary list officially released.
However, the USMNT didn’t release that list, as FIFA doesn’t require it to be of public knowledge. One would think Diego Luna was included on the 55-player list, which is why he has a small chance to play in the World Cup.
Now that we have explained the gray area, let me tell you how this works. Every national squad has until 24 hours before their first World Cup game to make changes to their roster. Still, this change has to be because a player already on the list got injured, and the national squad can prove he isn’t able to play.
The USMNT has its star centre-back, Chris Richards, injured. The defender was sidelined from the friendly match against Senegal. If the time comes, and Richards cannot recover from his two torn ligaments, Pochettino might decide to remove a defender and add an offensive player to the squad.
Right now, for the first game against Paraguay, Richards’ status is unclear.
The national squad faced Germany this Saturday, giving the Argentine manager one final opportunity to evaluate every player and determine whether to keep them or make a substitution before the final roster is set.
Diego Luna’s open window will come down to the decision Mauricio Pochettino takes about Chris Richards, or because another player got injured on Saturday, or even in training.
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