Bold choices, high stakes and a World Cup on the horizon

June has arrived, and we are days away from the start of the greatest sports tournament on the planet, as well as America’s 250th birthday.

Whatever the frustrations about ticket prices, FIFA communications (or lack thereof) and the complexity of staging games across three nations, that frustration and uncertainty evaporate as the thrill of the World Cup 2026 kicks off.

Last month, there was a little taste of that thrill when each team announced the chosen squad of players for its national team, as selected by the head coach. FIFA allows a minimum of 23 and a maximum of 26 players in a World Cup squad.

There is a particular cruelty to squad announcement day. For every footballer who answers the phone and hears that he is going to the World Cup, another hears the opposite — that the dream he has chased since boyhood ends with him watching on television, like the rest of us. Over the past fortnight, the two managers I follow most anxiously made those calls.

If you have read my earlier articles, you will know that I am watching the fortunes of the U.S. and England with historic personal affection, so here I am focusing on the squad selection for those two favorites of mine. If you are rooting for another national team, I encourage you to check the story of that squad. For now, let us look at the story of the Stars and Stripes and the Three Lions.

What each head coach chose tells us a great deal about how the U.S. and England intend to approach the summer of their lives, and all this in the timeframe of America’s 250th.

Tuchel wields the axe

Thomas Tuchel revealed his England squad on May 22 at Wembley, the names unveiled in a short film scored to The Beatles’ “Come Together.” The togetherness did not extend to everyone. Tuchel left out Phil Foden and Cole Palmer, two of the most gifted attackers England has produced in a generation, in a decision noted in the English press as the most shocking England selection since 1998.

Harry Maguire, a veteran of two World Cups, announced himself “shocked and gutted” when left out. Trent Alexander-Arnold, not so long ago undroppable, did not make the plane at all. But a head coach must select, and all these talented players have had underwhelming domestic seasons. 

What does such ruthlessness reveal? It says Tuchel has decided cohesion and graft will beat reputation. He has built around a settled spine, with Pickford in goal, the imperious John Stones and Declan Rice in front of him and Jude Bellingham as the creative engine. Tuchel filled the remaining seats with players he trusts to run themselves into the ground.

I confess a flicker of parochial joy: Djed Spence, one of my own Tottenham men, made the cut, rewarded for a fine season in a very struggling side that was nearly relegated from the English Premier League (American football would do well to use relegation of poor teams). And at the head of it all stands Harry Kane, captaining England in his third World Cup, a distinction matched only by the great Billy Wright from three generations back. Kane scored 58 goals for Bayern Munich this season and won the European Golden Shoe. Without his goals, England do not win knockout matches. With them, well, one allows oneself to dream.

Pochettino takes his risks

Five days later, in New York and live on Fox, Mauricio Pochettino, coaching for the U.S., named his own 26. The headline was a homecoming and a heartbreak in a single breath: Gio Reyna, that prodigiously gifted and often injured midfielder, is in; Diego Luna of Real Salt Lake FC, lately spoken of as the coach’s go-to person, is out. It is precisely the kind of call by which a coach’s nerve is measured.

The shape of the selection tells the story. Pochettino has loaded up on defensive bodies and leaned young. This is the fifth-youngest squad the U.S. has ever sent to a World Cup. Thirteen of the 26 tasted the round of 16 in Qatar; the other 13 will know a World Cup for the first time.

Christian Pulisic, with 84 caps, is the elder statesperson of an absurdly youthful group. One senses Pochettino has concluded that legs, pace and pressing energy are America’s true currency — in short, that the U.S. cannot out-pedigree Brazil or France, but it might just out-run them. It’s a bet on athleticism and belief, and I rather admire its audacity. And it just showed its impact in a “friendly” exhibition match at the end of May.

Charlotte — and the drought breaks

The proof, as ever, arrives on grass. On Sunday in Charlotte, before a roaring, flag-waving crowd at the Bank of America Stadium, the Americans defeated the African powerhouse Senegal three goals to two, and they did it in fine form.

Christian Pulisic, who had not scored for his country in months, finally ended his drought. Sergiño Dest added a second. Pochettino made 10 changes at halftime (in friendlies — aka exhibition matches — a ridiculously large number of substitutions are allowed). After his revolving door of players at halftime, the magnificent Sadio Mané hauled Senegal level with two goals of real quality.

But it was the American, Folarin Balogun, who struck the winner — a heartening evening for sure. I will say, though, the defensive wobbles in that second half gave the coaching staff something to chew over as we count down to that Mexico versus South Africa game on June 11.

Germany awaits

And then — the intriguing one. This Saturday, the U.S. closes its preparation with a friendly match against Germany at Soldier Field in Chicago, a mere five days before the World Cup launches. Make no mistake, a friendly against Germany is like sparring with a heavyweight.

The Germans are four-time world champions, ranked currently ninth on the planet, stocked with the likes of Florian Wirtz and Jamal Musiala. The Americans have beaten them only four times in 12 meetings. It is a daunting final examination of the readiness of the U.S. squad and exactly the test a side with knockout ambitions ought to crave. 

One learns nothing comfortable against giants — instead, one learns everything.

Until the whistle

So, the squads have been selected and published. For everyone of the thrilled 26 squad players, there are scores more who coulda, shoulda, woulda. I shall hold my analysis of the football itself until there is football to analyze. When next I write to you, the opening whistle will have sounded, the group games will be well underway, and we shall at last be talking not about who was chosen, but about what they have done with the chance. 

Until then, best to keep your evenings free.

Christopher Blake, a native of Wimbledon, England, now lives in Macon, where he serves as the president of Middle Georgia State University. He is a passionate supporter of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and the national football teams of the U.S. and England.