Community
U.S. Men’s National Team Names its Roster for World Cup 2026
MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MEDIASHIFT NEWSROOM — Twenty-five of the 26 players attended the roster reveal event, with defender Chris Richards absent while training with Crystal Palace ahead of the UEFA Conference League final. Richards reportedly suffered two torn ankle ligaments, putting his World Cup status into question but is expected to play when the World Cup starts June 11.
NEW YORK – Now we know.
The wait is officially over as the U.S. men’s national team revealed its 2026 FIFA World Cup roster on Tuesday afternoon during a fan celebration at The Rooftop at Pier 17 live on Fox Sports. After weeks of rumors, speculation and even leaked reports online to multiple outlets, fans finally received confirmation on who will represent the United States at home on soccer’s biggest stage.
National teams participating in the World Cup must submit their final 26-player rosters by June 1, with FIFA officially confirming and publishing the lists on June 2.
Twenty-five of the 26 players attended the roster reveal event, with defender Chris Richards absent while training with Crystal Palace ahead of the UEFA Conference League final. Richards reportedly suffered two torn ankle ligaments, putting his World Cup status into question but is expected to play when the World Cup starts June 11.
This event was meant to appeal to fans preparing for a World Cup tournament staged on U.S. soil for the first time since 1994.
Walking throughout Pier 17, fans were catered to with momentos, a festive enviornment and opportunities to create memories. There were photo booths and soccer stations. The main stage was set on the rooftop, replete with free activations, a live D.J. and a hype woman to boost the energy.
During the actual reveal, players were called up one by one to show off their jerseys before standing side by side together. Immediately after, Atlanta rapper Gunna came out to perform one of his hit songs.
The day’s events appealed to fans sweating on a hot rooftop waiting to greet players and standing though a heavily produced television show by FOX Sports.
Players were finally introduced through smoke plumes on stage.
In a press conference following the celebration, USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino spoke about the process of officially selecting the players for this 2026 team.
He mulled over the decision until the end.
“I think it was the day before–the day before I announced the roster–because we had all the information over the last few weeks and were working on different things,” Pochettino said. “Then the last day… at the very last moment, we decided.”
“We had an idea. It’s not that we changed 20 players, but I think we were watching, analyzing and assessing every situation, and we decided on the 26 players on the roster.”
Notable players such as midfielders Diego Luna and Tanner Tessmann were left off the final roster. When asked about players who did not make the squad, Pochettino declined to comment.
“I think we cannot talk about the players who are not on the roster because I think it’s very disrespectful to the players who made the roster,” he said. “If we are going to talk about the players who are not on the roster, then we also have to ask which players should not be on the roster.”
The roster mixes familiar faces with new talent. Thirteen players return from the 2022 World Cup squad that reached the Round of 16 in Qatar, while the rest are preparing for their first World Cup appearance.
Returning midfielder Tyler Adams reflected on having the roster revealed in New York, where he spent much of his childhood playing soccer.
“I spent a lot of time in the city growing up, just playing in the best tournaments I could find,” he said. “It feels like everything has kind of come full circle. Having a roster announcement in your home state, where you have friends and family coming to an event like this, is really, really special.”
This year’s roster also highlights the growing influence of Black athletes within American soccer. Thirteen Black players made the 2026 squad, one more than the 2022 World Cup team.
According to For Soccer, a 2025 study found that 18 million Black Americans have at least some interest in soccer. More than half of Black soccer fans are between 18 and 34 years old, with especially strong interest among Gen Z audiences.
“It’s definitely a reason to be proud–to back those guys,” said Kevin Young, lifelong soccer fan who attended the event. “I think there should be more initiatives in the country to bring soccer and let kids know that soccer exists and the opportunities it can provide.”
With the World Cup taking place in 11 major American cities and a younger, predominantly Black core helping lead the national team, many fans believe this tournament could become a major turning point for soccer’s popularity within Black communities across the country.
“One thing I really like about the Black players on the team, outside of representation, is that they’re playing abroad,” said Qiana Martin, founder of Eat Soccer and a senior soccer coach in New York City.
“Soccer is a global sport, and it is really important for as many players of color–particularly Black players of color–to get into the sport because it is literally a global passport to communicate with the rest of the world.”
The USMNT will travel to its training location in Fayetteville, GA, for the next few days ahead of its second-to-last international friendly against Senegal national football team on May 31 in Charlotte, N.C., before its first World Cup match against Paraguay national football team on June 12 at SoFi Stadium.
Here’s a list of the Black players on the 2026 USMNT team:
No. 2 – Sergiño Dest
Born in the Netherlands to a Surinamese-American father, Dest came through the famous AFC Ajax academy before later joining FC Barcelona. He remains one of the most technically gifted players in U.S. Soccer history.
Dest plays with flair and confidence, often attacking like a winger despite being listed as a defender. After battling injuries, he recently returned to full fitness while playing major minutes for PSV Eindhoven.
No. 3 – Chris Richards
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Richards developed through the FC Dallas academy before moving to FC Bayern Munich. He built a reputation as a calm, modern defender known for strong passing, recovery speed and organizing the backline.
Richards became one of Mauricio Pochettino’s most trusted defenders during qualifying.
No. 4 – Tyler Adams
Adams remains one of the most respected voices in the locker room after developing through the New York Red Bulls system and previously captaining the national team.
As a defensive midfielder, Adams specializes in winning the ball back and protecting the defense. Although injuries have slowed him over the past two years, he remains one of the most important pieces of the U.S. midfield.
No. 5 – Antonee Robinson
Nicknamed “Jedi,” Robinson is one of the fastest players in the U.S. player pool. The Fulham F.C. defender is known for nonstop energy, overlapping runs and helping push the American attack forward from the left side.
Robinson recently returned to full fitness after injury concerns and is widely viewed as one of the best American fullbacks currently playing in Europe.
No. 8 – Weston McKennie
McKennie has become one of the emotional leaders of the national team. Raised between Texas and Germany, the midfielder is known for physicality, high energy and his ability to impact games on both ends of the field.
The Juventus F.C. midfielder is coming off one of the strongest club seasons of his career and has discussed the pressure surrounding expectations for the 2026 tournament.
No. 12 – Miles Robinson
Robinson’s return to the World Cup roster marks a full-circle moment after missing the 2022 tournament because of a devastating Achilles injury.
The former Syracuse University standout is known for speed, recovery ability and physical defending.
No. 15 – Auston Trusty
The Philadelphia native worked his way from Major League Soccer into Europe and now provides physicality and depth for the American defense.
Trusty’s aggressive style and aerial ability make him an important rotational option.
No. 16 – Alex Freeman
Freeman, the son of former NFL receiver Antonio Freeman, represents one of the younger rising talents on the roster.
The versatile defender is viewed as an athletic, attack-minded option for the future.
No. 17 – Malik Tillman
Tillman, who developed through FC Bayern Munich, is viewed as one of the smoothest and most naturally talented attackers in the American player pool.
Known for creativity and composure on the ball, Tillman gives the United States another attacking playmaker capable of creating chances between defensive lines.
No. 19 – Haji Wright
The Los Angeles native has played professionally across Germany, the Netherlands, Turkey and England.
Wright gives the United States size, strength and another dangerous attacking option capable of scoring in transition moments.
No. 20 – Folarin Balogun
Born in New York to Nigerian parents and raised in England, Balogun committed internationally to the United States over both England and Nigeria.
Balogun gives the United States a true goal-scoring striker capable of stretching defenses with pace and movement.
No. 21 – Tim Weah
The son of George Weah, Weah developed through Paris Saint-Germain F.C. and has become one of the team’s most versatile players.
Known for explosive speed and dangerous counterattacks, Weah can play winger, striker, wingback or wide midfielder depending on the matchup.
No. 22 – Mark McKenzie
McKenzie developed through the Philadelphia Union academy before building a professional career across Europe.
Beyond soccer, he has also become one of the team’s more vocal players on race and social justice conversations.
Black History
Listening as a Lifeline: A Doula’s Witness to Black Maternal Health
OAKLAND POST — Maternal mortality and pregnancy-related mortality use different time frames and methods and are not interchangeable. Finalized 2024 CDC data recorded 649 maternal deaths nationally. The overall rate was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, but for non-Hispanic Black women it was 44.8, compared with 14.2 for White women and 12.1 for Hispanic women.
Word Count: 1058
Note: Client A, B & C, names are withheld for privacy; these accounts reflect my recollections as their Doula.
Client A rocked her hips on a birthing ball, surrounded by pale wood and warm textiles in a softly lit Scandinavian-style office. I was her doula through a Southern California maternal health company combining nurse-led care, technology, and wraparound support.
She was a healthy Black woman in her thirties. Her baby girl was doing well; her partner took notes as we discussed labor and advocacy.
Then we turned to their chosen hospital. I knew it well—and remembered a phrase from another client’s experience: “Policy of Sovereignty.”
Client B had been told she needed a repeat cesarean as a precaution, though the reasoning was unclear. Her obstetrician, who performed her first cesarean two years earlier, had assured her throughout pregnancy that she was healthy, healed, and ready for a vaginal birth. We asked staff to review her chart, consult her obstetrician, and reconsider immediate surgery. Instead, they invoked the “Policy of Sovereignty.”
The physician on duty, we were told, had final authority, regardless of her established care plan. I asked whether an ultrasound or reassessing the baby’s position could offer clarity. Cesareans can be lifesaving. But were Client B’s history, informed consent, and circumstances guiding this decision—or was routine overriding individualized care? We kept asking for her obstetrician. Beneath every request was a deeper question: Was she being heard?
The Numbers Behind the Stories
Statistics arrive in clean columns. The experiences behind them do not.
Maternal mortality and pregnancy-related mortality use different time frames and methods and are not interchangeable. Finalized 2024 CDC data recorded 649 maternal deaths nationally. The overall rate was 17.9 deaths per 100,000 live births, but for non-Hispanic Black women it was 44.8, compared with 14.2 for White women and 12.1 for Hispanic women.
In California, Black birthing people experienced 56.5 pregnancy-related deaths per 100,000 live births during 2020–2022—3.8 times the White rate and four times the Asian rate.
As a doula serving Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties, I see faces behind those numbers. I remember concerns raised softly, then firmly, then desperately. I am tired of watching Black families enter spaces meant to protect them, only to discover they must defend themselves while laboring, bleeding, trembling, or recovering.
Returning to Client A
Client A’s labor stretched nearly 48 hours. As her condition worsened, she, her partner, and I asked whether a cesarean should happen sooner. A provider questioned my place as a doula, then said she was next.
Six more hours passed.
She entered surgery visibly ill with a serious uterine infection, her baby malpositioned and stuck. Her partner later recalled the provider saying, “This baby would never have made it through the birth canal.”
Those words landed like a blow. Our urgency had been treated as ignorance. With Client B, we questioned why surgery was inevitable. With Client A, why it was delayed. Doula advocacy is not about one kind of birth. It is about informed consent, individualized care, and timely action. Hospital routine should never outweigh the person carrying the risk.
Survival Cannot Be the Standard
The Black maternal health crisis includes unequal care, untreated conditions, racial bias, delayed referrals, poor communication, and inadequate postpartum support. It is about birth plans respected only until a hospital becomes less busy and postpartum care that asks whether a mother survived, not whether she has what she needs to recover.
Survival cannot be the standard. Technology can support care, but it cannot replace human connection. An algorithm cannot detect fear in a patient’s eyes, and a mission statement alone cannot ensure adequate staffing or culturally responsive care.
The Story of Client C
Before I arrived, I heard the chaos through Client C’s phone. Staff struggled to locate her baby’s heartbeat on an external monitor as her fear and blood pressure rose. I pleaded for an internal electrode before surgery.
“There’s not enough time,” a nurse said.
“I would like to wait for my doula,” Client C called out.
But she was medicated, hurried through consent, and wheeled away while I listened.
In the operating room, after a shift change, another nurse placed an internal electrode and said, “The previous monitor wasn’t working.”
No one responded.
According to her father, the obstetrician avoided eye contact: “We need to move forward.”
Surgery may still have been necessary; that was not mine to determine. But if faulty equipment helped create the emergency, the family deserved acknowledgment and explanation—not silence. No family should have to wonder whether major surgery followed an unavoidable crisis or a machine failure no one recognized in time.
From Prevention to Accountability
After supporting nearly 100 families, I have learned that danger often begins before admission. I have urged clients to seek care—and heard why they feared returning: dismissed pain, harsh words, shame for asking questions.
Care cannot be holistic where Black families do not feel safe enough to speak or return. Representation matters, but providers of color cannot repair inequity alone. They need adequate staffing, mentorship, culturally responsive training, reliable equipment, and colleagues that are reflective of all the aforementioned. It’s not the Black providers job to care for just the Black patients, everyone should have the same goal.
The Momnibus Act, California’s Medi-Cal doula benefit, the Transforming Maternal Health Model and the Perinatal Equity Initiative require more than promises; they need sustained funding, reliable reimbursement and accountable implementation.
Birth should be sacred. Yet too many Black birthing people arrive carrying the burden of proving their pain is real. A doula can listen, educate, comfort, and advocate—but cannot repair a system that refuses to listen. The true measure of progress is what happens when a Black birthing person says, “Something is wrong.”
Are they believed? When equipment fails, is that failure acknowledged? Do families leave not merely alive, but safe, respected, supported, and whole?
Until those answers are consistently yes, California’s maternal health success story remains unfinished.
About the Author
Antoinette Stewart-Eneh is a mother of two, holistic maternal wellness advocate, and birth and postpartum doula who has supported families since 2019. She serves as program operations coordinator for Frontline Doulas, a volunteer client coordinator with the Joy in Birthing Foundation and a childbirth educator in South Los Angeles. She is studying to become a midwife and lactation educator.
Commentary
‘We Don’t Talk Trash — We Pick Up Trash!’
OAKLAND POST — Following the cleanup, Jones talked with Richard Johnson, CEO of Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB). Johnson said he wanted to bring formerly incarcerated nonprofits together not only to help clean up the city, but also to bring youth with them to mentor the next generation.
When community activist Jonathan “Fitness” Jones heard concerns from senior residents in East Oakland about illegal dumping, recurring trash issues and the health hazards they created, he decided that watching the problem was not enough.
Jones, a member of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG) and an Oakland Private Industry Council board member, learned that seniors were frustrated by the recurrence of illegal dumping even when trash has been cleared. Recurring trash can contribute to unsanitary conditions, attract rodents and leave residents feeling that their neighborhoods are being overlooked.
On Saturday, Sept. 26, Mr. Jones joined High Street Coalition volunteers at Dick’s Donuts near High Street and Quigley Street, spending the morning picking up trash and helping beautify the surrounding neighborhood.
High Street Coalition volunteers organize community cleanups on the second and fourth Saturdays of each month.
Following the cleanup, Jones talked with Richard Johnson, CEO of Formerly Incarcerated Giving Back (FIGB). Johnson said he wanted to bring formerly incarcerated nonprofits together not only to help clean up the city, but also to bring youth with them to mentor the next generation.
Jones and Johnson discussed developing a community model that brings formerly incarcerated individuals, Oakland youth and nonprofit organizations together to clean and beautify the city.
The vision is to create opportunities for formerly incarcerated adults to take leadership roles while mentoring young people through hands-on community service. The program could also provide youth with opportunities to develop leadership skills, learn teamwork and responsibility, and potentially gain employment experience.
The goal is bigger than removing trash from the streets. It is about restoring neighborhoods while building relationships between generations and creating opportunities for people with lived experience to give back to their communities.
Jones believes the message is simple:
“We don’t talk trash, we pick up trash.”
The proposed collaboration seeks to bring Oakland nonprofits, formerly incarcerated leaders, youth, residents, businesses and community organizations together around a shared purpose — cleaning the town, beautifying Oakland and building a stronger community together.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of September 30 – October 6, 2026
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