U.S. Soccer Roundtable: Gold Cup draw reaction, USWNT check-in
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It’s an interesting time to be a U.S. Soccer fan.
While the men’s national team is under immense pressure with the 2026 World Cup around the corner, the women’s national team is in a period of transition and experimentation under Emma Hayes.
Let’s check in on the biggest storylines in U.S. Soccer with FOX Sports’ soccer reporters Doug McIntyre and Laken Litman:
1. The draw for the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup took place on Thursday and the United States men’s national team was drawn into Group D with Haiti, Trinidad & Tobago and Saudi Arabia. Which team do you think will give the U.S. the most trouble and why?
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Doug: The quick answer is Saudi Arabia. A six-time World Cup participant, the Saudis held the U.S. to a scoreless tie in their final tune-up for Qatar 2022, then stunned Lionel Messi and Argentina in their opener at the main event – the only team to beat the eventual champs. At No. 58, FIFA ranks the Saudis ahead of Haiti (83) and T&T (100). The Green Falcons are also a less familiar opponent for the USMNT, and therefore trickier. But Haiti has given the Americans fits at recent Gold Cups past, and defeating even a relatively weak Soca Warriors side is never a sure thing – a fact that no U.S. supporter needs to be reminded of.
2. Reports out of Germany suggest Gio Reyna’s time with Borussia Dortmund might finally be coming to an end this summer. Where would you like to see the 22-year-old midfielder playing ahead of the 2026 World Cup? What is his level?
Doug: France or Spain. Reyna allegedly turned down Marseille to sign on loan for Premier League Nottingham Forest last year. Wrong decision if true. That’s exactly the sort of place a player like him could thrive. Right now, I think Reyna is capable of winning a starting job with a mid-table La Liga team. That’s the key. At 22, he needs to do something he’s never done in his career, play 90 minutes every week. Returning to MLS would be better than Reyna’s current situation at Dortmund, for which he’s been an unused sub in five straight Bundesliga games.
Reyna’s potential has been obvious since he became, at 17, the youngest American ever to play in the UEFA Champions League. That was more than five years ago now. I still think Reyna has time to figure things out and become a consistent, two-way contributor for club and country before the 2026 World Cup. The clock is ticking, though.
3. Fresh off of getting called up by the USMNT for the Concacaf Nations League in March, Brian White scored a club-record four goals for the Vancouver Whitecaps in their 5-1 over Austin FC on Saturday. Do you expect him to be part of the Gold Cup roster in June? Why or why not?
Doug: It’s a numbers game. Folarin Balogun is back playing for Monaco following shoulder surgery, so he’ll be there for sure. Same for Ricardo Pepi if he’s healthy. Patrick Agyemang started the USMNT’s most recent match over both White and Josh Sargent, and he scored the Americans’ only goal in the 2-1 loss to Canada. So those are probably Mauricio Pochettino’s three picks at striker if everyone’s healthy.
Of course, everyone isn’t always healthy. The Gold Cup could come too soon for Pepi, who has been ruled out for the rest of PSV’s season following knee surgery. Could that open the door for White? It’s possible that Pochettino now prefers the 29-year-old MLS lifer to Sargent, who has yet to score in three U.S. starts since the Argentine coach took over last October. But White will also have to beat out Haji Wright, who has four goals in his last five games for Coventry City in England’s second tier. I think White probably just misses out given the competition ahead of him.
[RELATED: Brian White’s USMNT opportunity is a career in the making: ‘I always kept dreaming’]
4. The Phallon Tullis-Joyce fan club gained a handful of new members over the weekend after her incredible double-save for Manchester United in the FA Cup on Sunday. Just a week prior, she had a strong showing in a shutout win against Brazil. Is it too soon to call her the favorite to replace Alyssa Naeher on the USWNT?
Laken: I think it is too soon because Emma Hayes is still very much in the roster experimentation period. Everything regarding the USWNT is centered around the 2027 World Cup, and qualifying for that tournament isn’t until November 2026. So Hayes has plenty of time, even though she’d probably rather have Alyssa Naeher’s successor already in place.
Having said that, there is no question that Phallon Tullis-Joyce raised her USWNT profile in the last camp. She had a clean sheet and made six big saves in her first cap for the U.S. in the first match against Brazil. She appeared confident in goal, was aggressive coming off her line and made an impression on the team in her first ever start.
But Hayes has not ruled anybody out of the competition. Jane Campbell, Mandy McGlynn and Tullis-Joyce have been called into the past two camps, but it wouldn’t be sensible to exclude Casey Murphy, Claudia Dickey or Angelina Anderson at this point in time. As far as Tullis-Joyce is concerned, however, Hayes needs to see more from her. She’s only been involved in three camps and is still getting acclimated to the environment. Hayes commented that the goalkeeper is more quiet and introverted and it takes time to build trust and connections with new teammates. Tullis-Joyce made a case for herself, but it’s still too early to say she’s the frontrunner.
5. Who else in the USWNT player pool has helped their case during this period of experimentation for Emma Hayes and Co.?
Laken: Alyssa Thompson. The 20-year-old forward has taken another step, according to Hayes, after the past camp which featured two matches against Brazil. Thompson has been featured much more since returning to the fold last fall, which included scoring her first goal against Iceland last October. More recently, Thompson started both games vs. Brazil and was involved in two impressive goals. She was a bright spot in the attack and showed how much she’s grown since coming into the senior team when she was only 17 years old.
Hayes commented on Thompson’s growth during the April camp, explaining that the staff has been working with her for the past six months on her decision making, positioning and how to be a world-class 1v1 specialist. With only Trinity Rodman of the famed ‘Triple Espresso’ available for selection recently, Thompson has a huge opportunity to ingrain herself further into Hayes’ plans. Plus, she’s been performing consistently for an undefeated Angel City where over the weekend, she scored a goal and had an assist in a 3-1 win over the Houston Dash, and became the second youngest player in NWSL history to reach 10 goals and 10 assists.
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of “Strong Like a Woman,” published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her at @LakenLitman.
Doug McIntyre is a soccer reporter for FOX Sports who has covered United States men’s and women’s national teams at FIFA World Cups on five continents. Follow him @ByDougMcIntyre.
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