After Mauricio Pochettino’s makeshift United States men’s national team beat Uruguay 5-1 in their final fixture of 2025 on Tuesday night, this much is clear: No one’s spot on the 2026 World Cup roster should feel secure, not even for those Americans playing for some of the world’s most famous European clubs.

With only one more international window to go before the 2025-2026 European club season ends, it may be more important than ever for every player with World Cup hopes to earn regular minutes and make contributions at the club level.

However, that doesn’t describe everyone in the current USMNT player pool, including several names who were expected to be cornerstones of the 2026 squad when Pochettino took over just over a year ago.

Here are five USMNT players who desperately need to play more minutes for their club sides to lock down a spot on the final tournament squad.