The United States men's national team finished its first January camp under Mauricio Pochettino undefeated despite not having its best XI due to the camp falling outside a FIFA international window.
With a number of USMNT players not just playing but thriving in Europe, it will be a challenge for U.S.-based players to crack the 2026 World Cup roster, but there were a few standouts from this camp that improved their case with less than 16 months until kick-off.
Here are the biggest winners from the January camp and a look at where they stand among the rest of the player pool:
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I think Patrick Agyemang was one of the big winners over the course of these two games. He showed a bit of what he's been about in the past year or so with Charlotte FC in MLS.
In his debut against Venezuela, he scored a fantastic goal and drew a penalty early in the match. He can operate in open space, he can open up his legs, he's physical, he's strong, and he's good in the air. But he also had a really good composure in front of goal — that first finish was really good.
As I watched him off the ball, I was impressed with his movement and the timing of his runs from behind the back-line. Then on Wednesday, against Costa Rica, he came off the bench — Brian White started the game and scored — but he hammered one for sort of an exclamation point over the two windows. I was impressed with him.
He is a handful for defenders and has a different profile to the other main strikers for the USMNT. When I think about the striker pool for the USMNT right now — Ricardo Pepi, Folarin Balogun, Josh Sargent, Brandon Vazquez and Haji Wright — there are a lot of bodies fighting for one spot in the system Pochettino has played. Ultimately, I think it will come down to whoever is the hottest as we lead up to 2026.
As it stands, Pepi is the starter, but after that there is a lot to play for. While Agyemang is currently on the outside looking in, he made a great first impression in the red, white, and blue, and if he can push on and have a strong season in 2025, I could see him inserting himself into the conversation.
I don't think this is McGlynn's cycle where he's going to work his way in for 2026. In saying that, if he makes a jump to Europe — he's being actively shopped right now — and can show he can continue to climb the ladder in terms of intensity, he could improve his case.
My only question about him is his ability to get around the field in a really fast and quick type of game. I think he's a great ball-player with his left foot; he sees a pass and can strike the ball from distance. You saw the goal he had against Venezuela, that was a beauty. He had a really good January camp.
McGlynn's is a great "tempo-setting" midfielder, who could be very useful for the USMNT in a possession dominant type of game against a lower CONCACAF opponent because of his ability to pass the ball from deep lying positions.
As always though, when we analyze players in the January camp window, we are talking within the context of "Can they break into the A group?" Let's take a quick look at the USMNT Midfield: Weston McKennie, Tyler Adams, Yunus Musah, Johnny Cardoso, Tanner Tessman, Aiden Morris, Gio Reyna, Gianluca Busio, Malik Tillman, etc., etc. — it's the strongest part of the squad.
It's a very athletic part of the team and Pochettino has put an emphasis on high intensity with quick transitions, and that doesn't quite track with McGlynn's game. Breaking into that roster ahead of 2026 will take a monumental effort, which is why I think it comes too soon for McGlynn. He is a midfielder with a lot of potential and certainly helped his case this January camp. Earmark him as one for the future, as we continue to watch his development (potentially in Europe) in the near future.
When I think about how to evaluate Diego Luna for the January camp, it's extremely difficult.
In his start against Costa Rica, we instantly saw flashes of what excites so many of us about his talent, but an elbow and a broken nose later, Luna's day came to an end at halftime, when he was taken to hospital for further evaluation.
Luna did, however, come back on the field after breaking his nose to provide a phenomenal assist with his first touch of the ball.
It epitomizes the type of rough, tough, and resilient character he is and led to a wonderful and BIG compliment from USMNT head coach, Mauricio Pochettino.
Luna is a little rough around the edges at times, but he is filled with so much class. He has the ability to completely break open a game with a trick, flick, beautifully placed last pass, or a late run into the box to finish off a play. I would imagine that, like me, Mauricio Pochettino has seen some flashes of "next level" potential from Luna, but felt that we were robbed of the full performance after his injury. I don't think we will see him called up during the March window for the Nation's League semifinals, but he could work his way into the Gold Cup conversation with another great season for RSL or a move to Europe in the near future.
Those are the types of games and moments where we will see if he is able to convert that "next level" potential into performances and moments on the field at the highest level. For now, I remain unconvinced, yet intrigued about how far he can go.
Zack Steffen is reaping the benefits of coming back to MLS and playing consistently with the Colorado Rapids.
I was out on Steffen, I've got to be honest. I had moved past Steffen when thinking about goalkeepers in the pool, but he had a really good game on Wednesday. He had a fantastic save in the first half, and a few other acrobatic saves across goal. That's kind of the old Zack Steffen.
But let's be honest: this was a not-great Costa Rica team, and he wasn't under an immense amount of pressure. But as the goalkeeper, what are you going to do? You've got to make the saves, and he did that.
The move back to MLS has been a good one for Steffen from a couple perspectives:
- He's playing regular soccer. I can't overstate how important his is for goalkeepers (cough, Matt Turner, cough).
- He's put himself front and center in the mind of the USMNT coaching staff and USMNT fans.
- It's given him confidence in himself and his abilities.
Steffen looked broken for a period after the disappointment of the World Cup, not playing consistent minutes, and a couple of injuries in England. He seems to have bounced back from that and is in a positive frame of mind now.
Tim Ream, CB, Charlotte FC
I think Tim Ream's going to be at the World Cup in 2026 — I'm kind of resigned to that fact.
I don't say that out of extreme disappointment, but I hope somebody pushes him and can supplant him in the starting lineup, because I think that means we're in a better place, and we've got a center back that's a little bit younger and a little bit quicker. But I don't think at this point in the cycle, with a year and a half to go, there's any way to recreate the type of leadership, the type of experience and, still, the type of quality that Tim Ream has on the field: organizing the team, passing out of the back.
I've consistently said that we don't have a left-footed player in the back that can break lines the way that he does and play so calmly under pressure on the ball. He's still vital to that position, so I think even if he's not starting, I think he's going to be part of the roster in 2026.
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I also wouldn't be shocked or disappointed to see him starting when the USMNT walks out at SoFi Stadium in a year and a half. In saying that, a year and a half can be a long time in this game, and it's important Tim Ream keeps his level up at Charlotte FC in MLS. It will be interesting to see how he gets through a full season with a different type of cadence and travel than he has experienced in more than a decade.
I have followed Caden Clark's career as he had quick success in New York, before bouncing around and struggling to live up to some of the early hype.
We have to keep in mind he's still only 21 years old and hasn't found a good club fit since New York. He finished the season really strong (scoring his first MLS goals since 2022 in NY), so my hope is that he continues to get regular minutes in MLS and can be a serious contributor for CF Montreal this upcoming MLS season. What we saw in the January camp was a strong performance from a player who has a lot of raw talent. He had some great passes in both games, and bursts of pace with the ball that can get the crowd on the edge of their seats.
The goal was pretty nice too!
Eneli's journey is a fantastic story, which is a big part of why I believe he deserves recognition for a strong performance in the January camp.
His story touches almost every part of the U.S. Soccer development path and highlights the fact that different players develop in different ways and at different times. He played for the Crew academy at a young age before attending Cornell University and graduating in 2022.
Throw in some USL League two after that and then a SuperDraft Pick at No. 25 to RSL. Fast-forward to 2024, he became an extremely important player for RSL and now has a couple of national team caps to his name.
On the pitch, I was extremely impressed at his performance in the second match against Costa Rica, when he started and went 90 minutes. He completed 93% of his passes, won more than half of his duels, had 6 interceptions and 14 recoveries of the ball with 10 coming in the opponent's half. More than the stats though, it felt like he didn't break a sweat the entire game.
He looked calm on the ball, made good and smart decisions in both defense and attack, and played the type of clean game you need in that position on the field. As I talked about a little bit earlier, the midfield is a tough spot for the USMNT to break into, but I would keep an eye on Eneli and the part he could play in the future if he continues his sharp rise.
Stu Holden, a former midfielder for the United States men's national team, is FOX Sports' lead match analyst for its marquee soccer coverage.
