Mauricio Pochettino has made his picks. The US Men’s National Team head coach revealed his 26-player roster on May 26 for the FIFA World Cup 2026, a tournament the US will co-host alongside Canada and Mexico. The squad includes Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Folarin Balogun, names that American soccer fans have been building their hopes around for years.

Half the roster has never played in a World Cup. Thirteen of the 26 players selected will be making their tournament debuts. The opening match against Paraguay kicks off June 12 in Los Angeles.

The roster and its makeup

That 2018 miss still haunts the program. It cost then-coach Bruce Arena his job and triggered a full-scale youth movement that eventually produced this generation of players. Many of them ply their trade in Europe’s top leagues, a shift from previous eras when the USMNT relied heavily on MLS-based talent.

The expanded 48-team format for 2026 means more matches and a longer tournament. Squad depth matters more than ever, which partially explains why Pochettino has loaded up on versatile players who can cover multiple positions.

Crypto’s World Cup play

Kraken was named the Official Crypto Exchange Supporter of the FIFA World Cup 2026, a designation announced on June 9.

Then there’s Chiliz, the company behind the Socios.com fan token platform. Chiliz has pledged an investment of $50 to $100 million for fan engagement and sponsorship in the US market.

The USMNT itself has not attached any token launches or blockchain partnerships directly to its roster announcement.

What this means for crypto investors

Kraken’s official sponsorship gives it a distribution channel that most exchanges would envy. Every broadcast, every stadium screen, every piece of tournament collateral becomes a touchpoint for a brand that’s trying to compete with Coinbase and Binance for American retail customers.

Chiliz’s $50 to $100 million commitment is the more interesting play from a token perspective. Socios.com fan tokens for clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Barcelona, and Juventus have seen price action around major sporting events. If Chiliz uses the World Cup to launch or promote tokens tied to MLS clubs or national team experiences, the CHZ token could see increased speculative interest.

Fan tokens that spike during a tournament often give back those gains within weeks. Investors who rode the 2022 World Cup wave learned that lesson the hard way.