- Position
- F
- Pieces here
- 7
On the record
Called Shots →At least five of the eleven players who start for the United States against Peru on 2026-09-26 are drawn from the thirteen uncapped players named in the federation's 2026-09-17 roster notes (Mathis Albert, Cole Campbell, Justin Ellis, Zavier Gozo, Julian Hall, Diego Kochen, Adri Mehmeti, Peyton Miller, Neil Pierre, Brooklyn Raines, Brian Schwake, Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield). Scored off the published starting eleven for that match. Resolves yes at five or more of those thirteen in the eleven; resolves no at four or fewer.
At least ten of the thirteen uncapped players on the United States fall roster (Mathis Albert, Cole Campbell, Justin Ellis, Zavier Gozo, Julian Hall, Diego Kochen, Adri Mehmeti, Peyton Miller, Neil Pierre, Brooklyn Raines, Brian Schwake, Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield) win a first senior cap across the four friendlies against Peru (09-26), Chile (09-29), Mexico (10-03) and Canada (10-06). A cap is any appearance, as a starter or a substitute, in the official match report. Resolves yes at ten or more, no at nine or fewer, including where a player withdraws from camp before appearing.
At least nine of the eleven players who start for the United States against Mexico on 2026-10-03 held a senior United States cap before the fall window opened, meaning they are not among the thirteen players the federation listed as uncapped on 2026-09-17 (Mathis Albert, Cole Campbell, Justin Ellis, Zavier Gozo, Julian Hall, Diego Kochen, Adri Mehmeti, Peyton Miller, Neil Pierre, Brooklyn Raines, Brian Schwake, Cavan Sullivan, Frankie Westfield). Scored off the federation's published Starting XI. Yes if nine, ten or eleven starters are outside that list; no if eight or fewer are.
Folarin Balogun is not in the United States' starting eleven against Haiti in the first leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal on 2026-11-14 in Miami. Scored off the federation's published Starting XI. It resolves yes if he is not one of the eleven, including if he is withdrawn from the roster, not dressed, or comes on as a substitute; it resolves no if he starts.
Written about him
Pepi and Balogun were not 100 percent. Pochettino brought the one with no start
Mauricio Pochettino named 25 players on November 4 for the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti, November 14 in Miami and November 17 in Cincinnati. He said he did not want to bring both Ricardo Pepi and Folarin Balogun because neither is 100 percent, and he brought Balogun, who has 116 of 810 league minutes and no start. In four league matches since the fall window, Balogun played 102 of 360 minutes and Pepi 30 of 360. Julian Hall played 535 of 540. Mathis Albert (20 of 720) and Malik Tillman (242 of 720) are on the list; Mark McKenzie (810 of 810), Yunus Musah (671 of 900) and Aidan Morris (1,080 of 1,170) are not. Haiti is the designated home team in Miami, so a U.S. goal there is an away goal. Wilson Isidor returned for Sunderland with 33 minutes at Coventry on October 31.
The MLS wild card is the night after Haiti, and five of the 28 are in the race
Orlando City (34 points), Red Bull New York, New York City FC and FC Cincinnati (33 each) hold seventh through tenth in MLS's Eastern Conference with seven league matches left, eight for Cincinnati. Five of the 28 players from the U.S. fall window play for those clubs. Seventh goes straight into the playoffs' first round; eighth and ninth play a single elimination wild card on Wednesday, November 18, hosted by the higher seed. The United States plays the second leg of its Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal against Haiti at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Tuesday, November 17. Freese has played 2,340 of New York City FC's 2,430 league minutes and 45 of the 360 in the window. Hall has 2,198 of Red Bull New York's 2,430 and 209 of the 360. Ellis, with 1,313 of Orlando's 2,430, has a right lower-leg contusion from the Canada match.
The U.S. beat Mexico 3-0 with Kochen in goal and Freese on the bench
The United States beat Mexico 3-0 at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on October 3, with goals from Julian Hall, Cavan Sullivan and Malik Tillman. Jeff Carlisle of ESPN reported that Mexico had 60 percent of the ball in the first half, and all three goals followed Mexico errors. Mauricio Pochettino started eight players who held a cap before this camp and three who did not: Diego Kochen in goal, Hall at striker and Sullivan beside him. Kochen played the first full match any goalkeeper has played in this window, while Matt Freese, who was in goal when the World Cup ended against Belgium, was an unused substitute and has 45 of 270 minutes. Damion Downs, the one forward capped before camp, has 19. Canada is next on October 6 in St. Paul, and the Nations League quarterfinal follows in November.