Will Tessmann leapfrog McKennie, Musah to start for USMNT at 2026 World Cup?

The European club season has been in full swing for over a month now, giving those U.S. men's national team players plying their trade overseas the chance to establish themselves. Some have gotten off to uneven starts, with the opening round of UEFA Champions League fixtures proving to be especially difficult. Others have hit the ground running. Those in MLS have been in rhythm for a while now.

Then there's Christian Pulisic, who has been leading the U.S. charge in Europe for nine years now and already has five goals in all competitions this season. Fortunately for the USMNT, Pulisic is one of several players who have been hitting their stride in recent weeks.

Throughout the season, ESPN will be monitoring the progress of the U.S. player pool, delivering insights into those whose form or fitness has made them particularly intriguing. We call it the USMNT's countdown to the World Cup.

ESPN will count down to June 11 every week so that way, 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 260 days to go.

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Tanner Tessmann | Midfielder | Lyon

2025-26 minutes: 450
2025-26 FotMob rating: 7.5

Tessmann proving he deserves to start in midfield

Tessmann had already enjoyed a solid start to the season, but last weekend he kicked his campaign into overdrive, scoring the lone goal in Lyon's 1-0 victory over Angers, a result that put the club in a tie atop the Ligue 1 table, behind AS Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain on goal differential. Not bad for a team that was threatened with relegation due to financial irregularities before the start of the season.

As for Tessmann, the question remains: Will these performances be enough to get him back in the U.S. squad? He hasn't been called up since the Concacaf Nations League in March. To be clear, they should be, but the mind of U.S. manager Mauricio Pochettino works in mysterious ways. At minimum, Tessmann should be in contention to provide cover for Tyler Adams, or even crack the starting lineup.

Malik Tillman | Attacker | Bayer Leverkusen

2025-26 minutes: 264
2025-26 FotMob rating: 7.1

USMNT could do with a dose of Tillman's perseverance

Credit Tillman for showing a strong mentality, bouncing back from a dreadful match in midweek against F.C. København in the Champions League to deliver a man of the match performance against Borussia Mönchengladbach in which he scored his second league goal of the season. A tactical tweak from manager Kasper Hjulmand might have helped.

Against Copenhagen, Tillman was operating as one of the dual No. 10s and struggled mightily to get on the ball. Against Gladbach, he was deployed deeper in midfield and had a much stronger impact on the game, even beyond his 70th-minute goal. Hjulmand afterward continued to preach patience, as Tillman is one of many new arrivals to the squad, but the player's ability to shake off a poor performance will serve him well for both club and country.

Christian Pulisic | Attacker | AC Milan

2025-26 minutes: 286
2025-26 FotMob rating: 7.9

Italy can't stop Pulisic

This was an impressive week for Pulisic, even by his lofty standards. After scoring two goals and helping set the table for a third in last weekend's 3-0 win over Udinese, Pulisic maintained his fine form by scoring the final goal -- on the half-volley, no less -- in a 3-0 Coppa Italia win over Lecce.

There's not much more to be said about Pulisic that hasn't been already. He remains the USMNT's most important attacking player, and he now holds the mark for most goals by an American in Europe's top five leagues with 59. As long as he can stay healthy, he's a lock to be in the U.S. lineup.

He'll try to keep the momentum going in this weekend's momentous clash with top-of-the table Napoli.

The in-form XI

When Pochettino switched to a three-man back line during the September international window, it was a move that didn't appear to benefit Gladbach's Joe Scally. The wing back position favors the mobility and attacking instincts demonstrated by the likes of Sergiño Dest and Alex Freeman over the defending of Scally, but then Gladbach interim manager Eugen Polanski trotted out a 3-4-3 with Scally as the right wing back, and the American delivered an impressive performance.

Scally showed an ability to get forward that was unexpected given that he recorded no goals and no assists this past season -- his xG of 0.26 is already on its way to eclipsing last year's 0.38. Granted, who knows what formation the permanent Gladbach coach will prefer once he's hired, but the performance should help keep Scally in the lineup.

Given his performance last weekend, why isn't he in this week's in-form XI? It's a fair question, especially when you consider Dest conceded a penalty that was converted in PSV Eindhoven's 2-2 draw with Ajax. Combined with some defensively shaky moments during the September international window, it's worth weighing whether Dest is enough of a defensive liability that he loses his spot in the starting lineup. That said, Dest's value in attack is still high enough given his ability to deliver the unexpected, though Scally has given Pochettino something to think about in terms of who his starting wing backs should be.

Meanwhile, the relative stock of the U.S. corps of forwards continues to go through some wild swings in form. Folarin Balogun looked to have gained some separation from the chasing pack after a great performance against Japan, but that was before his tepid effort in a 4-1 Champions League defeat to Club Brugge landed him on the bench for last week's league encounter against Metz. Even worse for Balogun, his replacement, Mika Biereth, scored the opener in a 5-2 win, while Ansu Fati scored two off the bench and George Ilenikhena also got on the score sheet.

The silver lining for Balogun is that no other U.S. center forwards scored last weekend, although Ricardo Pepi's selfless run to the near post allowed Ismael Saibari to score PSV's first, so he'll remain the starter in this week's lineup. Also, Balogun's skill set is unique within the USMNT player pool, given his ability to make runs in behind the opposition defense, and this should mean his spot in the U.S. squad is still secure. He'll need to work his way back into the Monaco lineup, though, and this week's match at Lorient will reveal the extent to which his spot in the club hierarchy has fallen.

Big Board 2.0 update

ESPN's USMNT Big Board 2.0 went live earlier this month, and each Big Board will provide the foundation for weekly player updates. Below are the minutes and player ratings for each of those 37 players.

Matt Turner, goalkeeper, New England Revolution: 630 minutes in 2025; 7.1 FotMob rating in 2025.

Matt Freese goalkeeper, New York City FC: 2,790 minutes in 2025; 7.1 FotMob rating in 2025.

Zack Steffen, goalkeeper, Colorado Rapids: 2,160 minutes in 2025; 6.9 FotMob rating in 2025.

Patrick Schulte, goalkeeper, Columbus Crew: 2,430 minutes in 2025; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025.

Chris Richards, center back, Crystal Palace: 659 minutes in 2025-26; 7.4 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Richards continues to deliver for Palace, completing 86.7% of his passes and winning 87.5% of his duels in a 2-1 win over West Ham United.

Tim Ream, center back, Charlotte FC: 2,147 minutes in 2025; 6.7 FotMob rating in 2025.

Mark McKenzie, center back, Toulouse: 450 minutes in 2025-26; 6.6 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, center back, Celtic: 750 minutes in 2025-26; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Miles Robinson, center back, FC Cincinnati: 2,438 minutes in 2025; 6.9 FotMob rating in 2025.

Auston Trusty, center back, Celtic: 152 minutes in 2025-26; 6.4 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Tristan Blackmon, center back, Vancouver Whitecaps: 2,962 minutes in 2025; 7.2 FotMob rating in 2025.

Sergiño Dest, fullback, PSV Eindhoven: 691 minutes in 2025-26; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Antonee Robinson, fullback, Fulham: 141 minutes in 2025-26; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Robinson's recovery from offseason knee surgery took way longer than expected, but he finally played a full 90 minutes for the Cottagers in Tuesday's Carabao Cup victory over fourth-tier side Cambridge United. Now let's see if he can reclaim his spot in league play.

Joe Scally, fullback, Borussia Mönchengladbach: 355 minutes in 2025-26; 7.2 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Caleb Wiley, fullback, Watford: 18 minutes in 2025-26; 6.2 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Max Arfsten, fullback, Columbus Crew: 2,682 minutes in 2025; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025.

Alex Freeman, fullback, Orlando City SC: 2,802 minutes in 2025; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025.

Tyler Adams, midfielder, AFC Bournemouth: 464 minutes in 2025-26; 7.1 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Weston McKennie, midfielder, Juventus: 141 minutes in 2025-26; 6.7 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Johnny Cardoso, midfielder, Atlético Madrid: 185 minutes in 2025-26; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Cardoso has been dealing with an ankle injury, hence his omission from the game-day roster in last weekend's 1-1 draw with Mallorca.

Luca de la Torre, midfielder, San Diego FC: 2,299 minutes in 2025; 6.8 FotMob rating in 2025.

Tanner Tessmann, midfielder, Lyon: 450 minutes in 2025-26; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Yunus Musah, midfielder, Atalanta: 206 minutes in 2025-26; 6.5 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Sebastian Berhalter, midfielder, Vancouver Whitecaps: 2,906 minutes in 2025; 7.6 FotMob rating in 2025.

Cristian Roldan, midfielder, Seattle Sounders FC: 3,425 minutes in 2025; 7.4 FotMob rating in 2025.

Christian Pulisic, attacker, AC Milan: 286 minutes in 2025-26; 7.9 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Tim Weah, attacker, Marseille: 397 minutes in 2025-26; 7.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Weah has been Marseille's Mr. Fixit, lining up as a right wing back in OM's 1-0 win over previously unbeaten PSG. Will that help him or hurt him when the next USMNT camp opens? Either way, his versatility remains impressive.

Malik Tillman, attacker, Bayer Leverkusen: 264 minutes in 2025-26; 7.1 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Diego Luna, attacker, Real Salt Lake: 2,255 minutes in 2025; 7.2 FotMob rating in 2025.

Alejandro Zendejas, attacker, América: 777 minutes in 2025-26; 7.4 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Gio Reyna, attacker, Borussia Mönchengladbach: 84 minutes in 2025-26; 6.7 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Folarin Balogun, forward, AS Monaco: 306 minutes in 2025-26; 6.9 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Ricardo Pepi, forward, PSV Eindhoven: 306 minutes in 2025-26; 7.0 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Josh Sargent, forward, Norwich City: 581 minutes in 2025-26; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Patrick Agyemang, forward, Derby County: 66 minutes in 2025-26; 6.9 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Haji Wright, forward, Coventry City: 542 minutes in 2025-26; 7.5 FotMob rating in 2025-26.

Damion Downs, forward, Southampton: 271 minutes in 2025-26; 6.3 FotMob rating in 2025-26.