The bulk of the 1994 squad did not have a professional club contract
The 2026 squad has thirteen players with previous World Cup experience
32 years apart, both squads have a Reyna
men's national team coach Mauricio Pochettino announced on Tuesday for the . The Stars and Stripes squad is full of household names, including star man Christian Pulisic, veterans Tim Ream and Tyler Adams, and newcomers Sebastian Berhalter and Malik Tillman. But how does the 2026 USA squad compare to the 1994 side that last hosted the FIFA World Cup™?
FIFA crunched the numbers on the two squads selected for World Cups on home soil.
For the 1994 tournament, USA head coach Bora Milutinovic was only allowed to select 22 players. Meanwhile, Pochettino has been allowed to bring 26 players to the first 48-team World Cup. The expanded roster means Pochettino will have three goalkeepers, ten defenders, six midfielders and seven forwards at his disposal.
The 1994 squad contained just six players who had previously played at a World Cup: Tony Meola, John Harkes, Earnie Stewart, Eric Wynalda, Marcelo Balboa and Paul Caligiuri.
Exactly half of the 2026 squad (13 players) has experienced the global showpiece: Brenden Aaronson, Tyler Adams, Sergino Dest, Weston McKennie, Christian Pulisic, Tim Ream, Gio Reyna, Antonee Robinson, Cristian Roldan, Joe Scally, Matt Turner, Tim Weah and Haji Wright.
Ahead of the 1994 World Cup, the USA found itself in an unusual situation. Following the collapse of the North American Soccer League in 1984, the country had no national domestic outdoor league. As such, fifteen USA players, including some of the biggest names like Alexi Lalas, Meola, and Balboa, entered the tournament without a professional club contract. Instead, these players were contracted directly by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF).
On 12 June when the USA kicks off against Paraguay, the 2026 squad will have an average age of 26 years and 332 days.
32 years ago, when global pop star Diana Ross took her famous penalty during the opening ceremony, Lalas, Balboa and co had an average age of 26 years and 285 days.
In 1994, USA players were playing their club football in seven different countries: England, Greece, Mexico, Germany, Spain, USA, and the Netherlands.
32 years later, members of the Stars and Stripes squad can be found playing in ten countries including the USA. England has the most American players playing outside the USA, with five: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United), Tyler Adams (Bournemouth), Antonee Robinson (Fulham), Haji Wright (Coventry City), Chris Richards (Crystal Palace).
The 2026 squad also has players plying their trade in France and Italy, two countries the 1994 team did not make inroads into, although Alexi Lalas did earn a move to Padova after the tournament, becoming the first American to play in Serie A.
Creative Uruguayan-American midfielder Tab Ramos was donning the green and white of La Liga side Real Betis at the time of the 1994 World Cup. Overall, he played four-and-a-half seasons in Spain and helped the Andalusian club get promoted from the second division in 1994 before ultimately moving to Mexican club Tigres.
Alex Freeman is the 2026 squad's La Liga representative. After a strong start to the 2025/26 MLS season with Orlando City, Freeman was sold to Villarreal in January 2026. He has since made nine appearances for the Yellow Submarine.
The 1994 USA squad technically did not have any club team-mates, although many of the players trained and played together under contract with the USSF.
The 2026 side has two sets of club mates. Forward Ricardo Pepi and fullback Sergino Dest combine together at PSV Eindhoven. Meanwhile, defender Joe Scally and precocious talent Gio Reyna play together for Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany.
32 years apart both Stars and Stripes squads representing the USA on home soil contain a Reyna.
In 1994, Claudio Reyna had just graduated from the University of Virginia, where he had been named two-time Player of the Year by Soccer America magazine.
He was an unused substitute during that World Cup, but his talent was obvious enough that Bayer Leverkusen decided to sign him after the tournament.
His son, Gio, has followed in his footsteps, not only making the squad for a US-based World Cup, but by playing his club football in Germany, previously for Borussia Dortmund and now for Monchengladbach.
Both squads, although relatively young overall, had experience in the back line. Uruguayan-American Fernando Clavijo was 38 years old when the 1994 tournament began. He started three of their four matches.
Tim Ream will be 38 years and 250 days old when the USA open their tournament against Paraguay. He is expected to be the experienced head in a strong back line.
Chicago Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady shares history with 1994 USA backup keeper Jurgen Sommer. The two shot stoppers are the only uncapped players to make a USA World Cup squad. Sommer was playing at Luton Town ahead of the 1994 World Cup, while all three keepers for the 2026 squad are plying their trade in MLS.
Sources: FIFA Official
