USMNT World Cup roster watch: Tyler Adams, Ricardo Pepi back in the mix; Folarin Balogun's scoring streak

With Mauricio Pochettino about three weeks from selecting the U.S. roster for March training camp and friendlies, a rush of good news concerning two players arrived a few hours apart Saturday:

Midfielder Tyler Adams was on the field for the first time in more than two months and striker Ricardo Pepi was in uniform for the first time in six weeks.

Adams, who recovered earlier than anticipated from a sprained knee ligament, started in Bournemouth’s 0-0 draw at West Ham, while Pepi, in uniform after recovering from a fractured forearm, scored a sensational goal as a second-half sub in PSV Eindhoven’s 3-1 triumph over Heerenveen.

With both back in the mix for national team duty next month — Adams is certain and Pepi is probable — Pochettino has, at the moment, almost his entire player pool available for selection.

Only midfielder Gio Reyna (muscular issue) and winger Alex Zendejas (adductor) have remained out for multiple weeks.

Adams, the 2022 World Cup captain, missed 10 matches before suiting up at Everton on Feb. 10 — an absence of eight weeks instead of up to a feared three months. On Saturday, he logged 66 minutes, completed 41-of-45 passes and earned the second-best defensive statistics among players on both teams as eighth-place Bournemouth extended its Premier League unbeaten streak to seven.

With his left forearm well-protected, Pepi entered in the 76th minute and, after video replay negated his apparent goal, he rocketed a 25-yard shot in the 87th minute to stretch his Eredivisie scoring streak to six games. He increased his league total to nine and overall count to 12 in just 22 appearances.

The timing was ideal for the 23-year-old Texan, who, while injured, fell behind Coventry City’s Haji Wright and Derby County’s Patrick Agyemang on the U.S. depth chart behind No. 1 striker Folarin Balogun (Monaco).

“Amazing feeling to be back!” Pepi posted on social media. “Thank you to all the PSV’ers for the warm support on my return.”

Pochettino plans to name his squad for next month’s camp March 17 ahead of friendlies in Atlanta against Belgium on March 28 and Portugal on March 31 — the last gathering before his World Cup decisions. He must submit a provisional list of between 35 and 55 players to FIFA by May 11 before announcing the 26-man squad on or about May 26.

Monaco’s Folarin Balogun controls the ball during the UEFA Champions League knockout round play-off first leg football match Paris Saint-Germain at the Stade Louis II in the Principality of Monaco on February 17, 2026.

(VALERY HACHE via Getty Images)

France

It was quite a week for Balogun, who followed his two-goal performance against reigning European champion Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday with a second-half goal that sparked Monaco’s three-goal uprising to shock Ligue 1 leader Lens, 3-2.

He increased his overall goal haul to 11: five in Ligue 1, five in the Champions League and one in the French Cup.

Midfielder Tanner Tessmann (58 minutes) and third-place Lyon saw their 13-game winning streak across all competitions end with a 3-1 defeat at Strasbourg.

Right back Tim Weah was Olympique Marseille’s best player from an analytical standpoint in a 2-0 loss at Brest, extending fourth-place OM’s overall slump to 1-3-2 heading into next Sunday’s critical home match against Lyon.

Toulouse center back Mark McKenzie served a yellow card suspension and missed the 1-1 draw with Paris FC.

England

Center back Chris Richards helped Crystal Palace register its second shutout in three Premier League matches, a 1-0 victory over last-place Wolverhampton, which played a man short for about a half-hour before conceding the goal.

Left back Antonee Robinson was held out of Fulham’s 3-1 triumph at Sunderland without an official explanation, his third consecutive league absence. He had played 90 last weekend in the FA Cup.

Midfielder Brenden Aaronson (73 minutes) and Leeds earned their third straight away draw in Premier League play, a 1-1 result at Aston Villa.

After productive matches in the English Championship last week, Wright and Agyemang were quiet. Wright played 71 minutes in a 2-0 victory at West Brom and Agyemang went 90 in a 2-0 loss at Watford.

Midfielder Aidan Morris went 75 in Middlesbrough’s 0-0 draw with second-to-last Oxford, leaving his club three points behind first-place Coventry but six points ahead in the race for the second promotion to the Premier League.

Italy

Christian Pulisic, who has been battling bursitis, returned to AC Milan’s lineup after three substitution appearances with a 62-minute effort and two quality scoring chances during a 1-0 home loss to Parma — its first loss in Serie A since the August opener, a stretch of 23 games.

Midfielder Weston McKennie, who has been in tremendous form for Juventus this winter, played all of the 2-0 loss to Como, a result that stretched the Turin club’s winless rut to five games heading into the home leg of the Champions League affair with Galatasaray on Wednesday. (Juventus lost last week’s opener, 5-2.)

Midfielder Yunus Musah remained on the bench for the seventh time in nine matches as Atalanta edged Napoli, 2-1. He has appeared in 14-of-26 Serie A matches with just three starts, totalling 447 minutes.

In Serie B, goalkeeper Jonathan Klinsmann has conceded 10 goals in three matches, the most recent setback coming in Cesena’s 3-2 loss to Spezia.

Germany

Midfielder Malik Tillman played 81 minutes in Bayer Leverkusen’s 1-0 loss at Union Berlin, ending a seven-game unbeaten streak heading into the Champions League second leg Tuesday against Olympiacos. Leverkusen won the first leg, 2-0.

Teenage center back Noahkai Banks (17th start) continued to impress at Augsburg, which used a late comeback to earn a 3-2 victory at Wolfsburg.

Reyna’s call-up hopes continued to dim after missing his fifth consecutive match for Mönchengladbach. Over two months, he has played just 28 minutes. Teammate Joe Scally, a right wing back, played the entire match.

Midfielder James Sands’ run of 17 consecutive starts for St. Pauli across all competitions ended, but he entered in the 80th minute and helped seal a 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen, which lifted the Hamburg side out of the automatic relegation zone.

In the second division, left wing back John Tolkin (70 minutes) and Holstein Kiel lost at Karlsruher, 3-1 — their fifth consecutive loss overall.

Spain

Midfielder Johnny Cardoso made his fifth consecutive La Liga start for Atlético Madrid, which defeated Espanyol, 4-2, to snap a three-game winless streak in league play.

Right back Alex Freeman did not play in Villarreal’s 2-1 win over Valencia.

Netherlands

While Pepi’s goal headlined the U.S. contributions for PSV Eindhoven, right back Sergiño Dest made his 22nd start as the league leaders continued to run away with the title, thanks to a 20-2-2 record and a plus-41 goal differential.

Scotland

Center back Auston Trusty’s second red card in four weeks – for violent conduct in the 74th minute – imperiled Celtic, which conceded Hibernian’s late winner in the 2-1 outcome. He will miss next Sunday’s Old Firm clash against Rangers.

MLS

On opening weekend, three Vancouver players in the U.S. pool – center back Tristan Blackmon, midfielder Sebastian Berhalter and striker Brian White – played the whole match as the Whitecaps edged Real Salt Lake, 1-0. RSL midfielder Diego Luna sat out with a knee ailment.

Five goalkeeping candidates started, led by Pochettino’s undisputed starter, New York City’s Matt Freese, who made five saves in a 1-1 draw against the L.A. Galaxy. The others were New England’s Matt Turner, Chicago’s Chris Brady, Columbus’ Patrick Schulte and Cincinnati’s Roman Celentano.

Center backs Tim Ream (Charlotte), Miles Robinson (Cincinnati) and Walker Zimmerman (Toronto) and left wing back Max Arfsten (Columbus) played every minute and midfielder Luca de la Torre (Charlotte) went 69.

Los Angeles FC midfielder Timothy Tillman assisted during his 82-minute stint in the 3-0 home rout of Inter Miami before 75,673 at the Coliseum. Midfielder Cristian Roldan captained Seattle’s 2-0 win over Colorado.

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