United States men’s national team supporters are about to get a long look at the program’s next wave. Mauricio Pochettino has called in 13 players who have yet to make their senior debuts for the coming multi-week Fifa window, a group set to be introduced en masse across the fixtures ahead. Cavan Sullivan, at 16, is the headline name. But he is far from the only newcomer worth knowing, and the rest of the group arrives on the back of encouraging club form.
Diego Kochen, 20, is spending his first club spell away from Barcelona on loan at Lyngby in the Danish Superliga, and the early returns are mixed. Lyngby, just promoted from the second division, have won only one of nine games and conceded 16 goals from 116 shots, a 0.14 rate that is joint-worst in the league. Those are the sort of lumps both clubs appear willing to let him absorb while he gets needed professional seasoning. It is nonetheless a profile that intrigues a program which has lacked an obvious starting goalkeeper since Tim Howard retired a decade ago. The Miami-born Kochen was part of the World Cup squad as a training-only member, and scouting reports from Europe suggest he is already proactive at stopping crosses, a useful trait given his slim build.
Brian Schwake, 25, is the relative veteran of the group. After loan stints in Scotland and two years with Castellón, he joined Nashville SC in 2025 and has become first-choice, backstopping the club to MLS’s best record and a credible push at a new single-season points record. His 0.81 goals allowed per game stands out, though that figure owes plenty to the defence in front of him. What separates Schwake is that he still keeps clean sheets while facing greater shot volume, claims crosses capably and distributes tidily to limit mistakes. He is an experienced professional with room to grow, particularly in possession.
Frankie Westfield, 20, arrives at a position that has quietly been among the thinnest in the US player pool for several cycles, a shortage made starker by Pochettino’s decision to recast Sergiño Dest as a winger given his subpar defensive awareness. A member of last year’s U-20 World Cup squad, Westfield is thriving in his first season as Philadelphia’s preferred starter. He delivers 3.62 crosses per 90, in the 98th percentile of MLS full-backs, and is increasingly comfortable switching play to the opposite flank. His progressive passing is what sets him apart: with a quarter of the MLS season remaining, only three players, Carles Gil, Joaquin Pereyra and Lionel Messi, have sprayed more progressive passes, and no other defender ranks in the top eight. For a US side that struggled to build up the right flank at the World Cup, he offers a potential solution.
Neil Pierre, 18, stands 6ft 7in and was heralded as arguably the Philadelphia Union academy’s best centre-back prospect before making his first-team debut, no small claim given the club’s development of USMNT regulars Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty. After spending part of 2026 on loan at Lyngby, he returned to Philadelphia this summer and swiftly became its goalscoring ace on set pieces. He offers more than height: interim manager Ryan Richter has given him licence to be the backline’s proactive passer, directing 38% of his distribution upfield, in the 88th percentile among MLS centre-backs. He ranks in the 95th percentile for high defensive actions and the 97th for balls won in midfield. With much of the build-up to this window dominated by Noahkai Banks’ decision to commit to Germany, a strong showing from Pierre could turn that debate into a footnote.
Peyton Miller, 18, is assessed as having arguably the greatest ceiling of the MLS homegrown left-backs who have followed Alphonso Davies’ path from Vancouver to Bayern Munich, a group that includes Caleb Wiley, John Tolkin, George Bello, Sam Vines and Kevin Paredes, with Luca Bombino and Max Arfsten the latest to move to Stoke City this summer. Miller, though, is increasingly operating as a right winger since the World Cup break and has rare goalscoring potential for a player in his position: a brace against Orlando took his season tally to seven goals, to go with four assists largely from cutbacks and squared passes into the box. If he is used at left-back for the US, those instincts could offer an alternative to the better-rounded Antonee Robinson.
Mathis Albert, 17, has split billing with Sullivan as this generation’s headline attackers, yet their situations could hardly be more different. While Sullivan starts regularly in MLS, Albert remains largely a training player at Borussia Dortmund and is not even starting regularly for Dortmund II. The talent is unmistakable: he made his Bundesliga debut at a younger age than Christian Pulisic and Gio Reyna. Once part of the LA Galaxy academy, Albert takes to the wing with intent, able to dribble upfield with ease thanks to unusually effective acceleration with the ball at his feet. Much of his skillset is still to be determined, including whether he becomes an upfield advancer, a chance-creator or a finisher.
Zavier Gozo, 19, may be the best placed of the newcomers to stick around immediately and for the long haul; in most windows his first senior cap would serve as the headline inclusion. He has been an infrequent contributor for Crystal Palace so far, with two Premier League appearances, but his decisiveness and ability to wring threatening shots from seemingly unpromising sequences mark him as a rare danger. A red-hot start to the MLS season with Real Salt Lake earned him late consideration as a World Cup wild card, and he also put in strong shifts at right wing-back, versatility that could work him into Pochettino’s plans at multiple spots.
Adri Mehmeti, 17, is arguably the league’s best midfield prospect since Tyler Adams, and he is already a fixture of the Red Bulls’ engine room. At a lean six feet tall, he serves as the team’s epicentre in possession, leading the side in touches and responsibly linking the defensive line to the attack, a role he took to with unusual grace for a player who only made his MLS debut in the 2026 season opener. He positions himself cleverly to collect passes, consistently leaving opponents in two minds, and has shown a knack for threading through balls to create chances in the final third. His time under Red Bulls head coach Michael Bradley should be crucial in rounding out his midfield approach.
Brooklyn Raines, 21, is among those brought in with an eye on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. Born in Monrovia, Liberia, he developed at the Barça Residency Academy in Arizona, the same program that produced Bournemouth full-back Julian Araujo and Real Salt Lake playmaker Diego Luna. Operating on the right of the New England midfield, Raines is a tidy passer with baked-in instincts to recirculate: only 22.1% of his passes go upfield, fourth-lowest among 75 qualified midfielders. Instead he carries the ball into the final third, ranking in the 76th percentile for progressive carrying, and offers an option on indirect dead balls, a useful profile for a possession-dominant side that regularly faces mid-to-low defensive blocks in Concacaf play.
Cole Campbell, 20, first drew attention as part of Dortmund’s conveyor belt of dribbly American wingers, and a summer move to the recently promoted Elversberg has delivered far more minutes on the field. He scored his first Bundesliga goal last month in a win over Bayer Leverkusen. A direct winger who fits the Dortmund archetype, the Houston native looks to get past his defensive marker and find dangerous areas in and around the box. Elversberg manager Vincent Wagner encourages his players to perform without fear, and Campbell has revelled in that mentality, showing plenty of initiative to get on the ball in the final third while looking more inclined to try his own shot than set up a teammate.
Justin Ellis, 19, is the latest player whose career has benefited from playing alongside Antoine Griezmann, who joined Orlando City over the summer. After entering the 2026 season with just two MLS minutes on his ledger, Ellis has recorded 11 assists in his first full season, eight of them since Griezmann’s post-World Cup arrival. Born in Wellington, Florida, he has quickly established himself as an ideal running mate whenever Orlando are on the break. More tricky than outright quick, his nimble movement and acceleration separate him from markers more often than downhill running. Whether he eventually settles as a finesse striker or an attacking midfielder remains to be seen.
Julian Hall, 18, has been pursued hard by Poland: the Polish federation presented his mother with a national team jersey bearing her maiden name, Zakrzewski. Hall, a dual citizen, has yet to fully commit to either country, and Poland head coach Jan Urban is counting his caps closely, with an appearance in all four friendlies enough to permanently tie his future to the United States. His early-season form made the call feel inevitable, with 10 goals and five assists in 2,198 MLS minutes this season, even if his output dipped this summer along with the rest of the Red Bulls. His calling card is a preternatural reading of space and a knack for slipping into scoring positions before opponents see it coming. He roams from sideline to sideline to get involved, and eight of his 10 goals this season have come from shots inside the six-yard box.