The U.S. men’s national team had a roller coaster 2025 under the tutelage of manager Mauricio Pochettino.
Over the last 12 months, the Stars and Stripes saw a disastrous fourth-place finish in the Concacaf Nations League and a loss to rivals Mexico in the Concacaf Gold Cup, as well as several formation changes and peculiar roster decisions.
Yet the year ended with three straight wins, five games unbeaten in international friendlies and a relatively defined squad. At the same time, while players may not have reached their international peak, it was a stellar year for Americans at the club level.
Sports Illustrated dives into the top five American players in 2025, all eyeing key roles at the 2026 World Cup.
5. Matt Freese
The USMNT has plenty of questions heading into the 2026 World Cup year, but goalkeeping is not one of them—the No. 1 between the sticks is New York City FC’s Matt Freese.
While Matt Turner entered 2025 as the first choice, his disappointing performances in the team’s Nations League losses to Panama and Canada allowed Pochettino to make a switch. The Argentine tipped Freese as the starter at the Gold Cup and through international friendlies, while Turner sorted out his club situation and ended up back at the New England Revolution.
Freese seized the starting role for the last 12 USMNT matches of 2025, after making his debut in a June friendly loss to Türkiye. His heroics in the Gold Cup quarterfinals penalty shootout win against Costa Rica stand out. Still, he remained a key figure at several points, securing wins against Uruguay, Paraguay and Australia in the fall.
His time with NYCFC also saw him post stellar numbers, keeping 11 clean sheets and making 109 saves in 36 games across the MLS regular season and playoffs, which ended in the Eastern Conference final against eventual champions, Inter Miami.
4. Sebastian Berhalter
Sebastian Berhalter had a breakout year in 2025, cracking the USMNT for the first time in the summer and providing key moments at the Gold Cup as well as in November’s international friendly wins against Paraguay and Uruguay.
With pinpoint accuracy on set pieces, he scored a curling shot against Uruguay for his first USMNT goal and also provided an assist in the 4–1 win, which ended the year for Pochettino’s side. That performance came after Berhalter impressed at the Gold Cup, where he had two assists, including a key set piece for Chris Richards’s winning goal in the group stage against Saudi Arabia.
Few players had better years at the club level. Berhalter became irreplaceable for Vancouver Whitecaps FC, recording eight goals and 14 assists in 47 appearances across all competitions. The American helped the team reach the MLS Cup and Concacaf Champions Cup finals, as well as take home a fourth-straight Canadian Championship.
3. Malik Tillman
Malik Tillman had a formative 2025 at the club level and with the USMNT, as he moved to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen and carved out a key national team role amid Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie’s extended absences.
Tillman ended the 2024-25 season with 16 goals and 5 assists for PSV Eindhoven in their Eredivisie-winning campaign. Fellow USMNT players Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi pitched in as well.
Following the Gold Cup, Tillman moved to Leverkusen, where he has slowly found his feet after a nightmare start to the campaign, which cost manager Erik ten Hag his job.
Since finding his form in Germany, Tillman has proven to be a transitional piece and key player in defense, serving as a regular starter in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League. Meanwhile, he continues to hold a role with the USMNT, after scoring three goals and two assists in six Gold Cup matches, earning Gold Cup Best XI honors.
2. Christian Pulisic
Pulisic ends 2025 playing some of the best soccer of his career, with eight goals in his first 11 games of the Serie A season, very much in the running for the league’s Golden Boot despite missing several weeks due to a hamstring injury.
Through the calendar year, he has 19 goals with Milan while proving to be one of the best players across Europe’s top leagues. However, his time with the USMNT was marred by commitment issues in 2025, as he skipped the Gold Cup and summer friendlies, preferring rest over the final competitive games before the 2026 World Cup.
While Canada’s Jonathan David claimed the 2024–25 award for the best Concacaf Men’s Player of the Year, Pulisic is proving that he is the best player in Concacaf and will be an indispensable part of the 2026 World Cup.
1. Chris Richards
Few Americans have truly made it in the Premier League the way Chris Richards has, becoming a key player for Crystal Palace and the USMNT in 2025.
Last season, he played 2,635 minutes for the Eagles across all competitions and helped the club win the 2025 FA Cup and secure a place in the Conference League. So far this year, he has continued to play a vital role and started the season with a win in the Community Shield over Liverpool.
While the 25-year-old continues to impress with regular performances in the Premier League and across all competitions, his form also led the USMNT through the Gold Cup and its recent international friendlies. Richards made 12 USMNT appearances in 2025, starting every match at the Gold Cup, where he scored twice, including in the final against Mexico.
As much as Pochettino has tinkered with the roster in the year ahead of the World Cup, no player has a safer spot in the first-choice lineup than Richards.
READ THE LATEST USMNT NEWS, REACTION AND ANALYSIS
- The Best and Worst USMNT Moments of 2025
- Road to World Cup 2026: The USMNT’s Four Best Players of the Week—Ranked
- ‘Absolutely Crazy’—FIFA President Breaks Silence on World Cup Ticket Prices Amid Backlash
- USMNT Forward Rated at $54 Million Is Targeted by Premier League Club—Report
This article was originally published on www.si.com as USMNT’s Five Best Players of 2025—Ranked.
