Your cheat sheet to the 26 players on the U.S. World Cup team

Your cheat sheet to the 26 players on the U.S. World Cup team June 12, 20265:00 AM ET By  Becky Sullivan ,  Casey Morell ,  Russell Lewis The U.S. Men's National Team poses during the announcement of the 2026 World Cup roster in New York last month. Nicky Quamina-Woo for NPR hide caption toggle caption Nicky Quamina-Woo for NPR Four years in the making. The U.S. Men's National Team is finally ready to play its first game of the 2026 World Cup with a match on Friday against Paraguay in Los Angeles. For the 26 Americans on the squad, just making it to soccer's most prestigious tournament and the world's biggest sporting event is a culmination (or continuation) of a lifetime of soccer highs and lows. Here's what to know about each of the players on the team. ⭐⭐⭐ = main star ⭐⭐ = starter or featured substitute ⭐ = contributor off the bench Forwards Name: Christian Pulisic ⭐⭐⭐ Age: 27 Hometown: Hershey, Pa. Sponsor Message Club team: AC Milan (Serie A) The hot spotlight of American soccer has followed Christian Pulisic for years now, and, to his credit, he's largely lived up to the hype. He's a key starter on one of Europe's top clubs. He's the top active goalscorer for the USMNT, with 33 goals in 86 career appearances with the senior team. And though a goal-scoring drought had haunted him in the first half of this year, he broke through with a goal against Senegal late last month and is heading into this World Cup free and aggressive as ever. Name: Folarin Balogun ⭐⭐ Age: 24 Hometown: London, England Club team: AS Monaco (Ligue 1) Soccer Edition World Cup facts and figures to get you sounding like an expert Born in Brooklyn to Nigerian parents and raised in London, Balogun was eligible for all three national teams. He made the switch to represent the U.S. in 2023, when the Americans were in dire need of a striker. Since then, Balogun has been heralded as the long-term solution up front. He scored at least two goals in each of his first three ga...