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For every player who gets the dream call to represent the U.S. Men's National Team at the World Cup, there’s another who must face the silence of one that never comes. GOAL spoke to players and coaches about how it feels to miss out on football’s biggest stage, and why that pain can last for years.

On Friday, 26 players from the USMNT received the life-changing news – they were heading to the 2026 World Cup. For them, it was pure joy. Playing in the World Cup is the pinnacle for any footballer, and doing so on home soil is an even rarer privilege.

But for every player whose phone rang, others waited in vain. Diego Luna was reportedly among the most high-profile names left out of the final list, a reminder that the numbers are limited and some talented players are always going to be excluded. Head coach Mauricio Pochettino, like every manager before a World Cup, had to make brutally tough choices. And at this level, those decisions go beyond tactics—they often leave scars that last a lifetime.

Over the years, countless players have endured that heartbreak. The history of American football at the World Cup is filled with painful selection decisions, contentious choices, and ill-timed injuries. While some players seize their moment, others must come to terms with what could have been.

So what does it really feel like to be left out? How do players process the news? How do coaches deliver it? Each story is unique, but they all share one truth—missing a World Cup is more than a professional setback; it’s a personal wound that can last forever.

Pochettino’s process

For Mauricio Pochettino, deciding how to inform players was straightforward, influenced by his own experiences as a player. He had been on both ends of the conversation—he knew the thrill of being selected and the pain of being left out.

“In 98 and 94, I was on the radar but didn’t get the call,” Pochettino recalled last autumn. “In 2002, in Korea and Japan, I made the final team. That’s how I established my principles about communication.”

Even as far back as 2025, Pochettino had outlined his approach. He would personally contact the 26 players chosen, and that would be it. Others would find out in their own way.

Logistics played a part. As USMNT coach, he had overseen dozens of players, and even calling those who narrowly missed out could mean making 30 difficult phone calls. But more importantly, he understood the human side. In moments of disappointment, players rarely want to talk. Some are heartbroken, others furious—few are ready to have that conversation. Pochettino said that players who wish to reach out later know how to contact him. If they choose never to, he respects that as well.

“I’ve been there,” he said. “When you’re not on the final list, what can I say on a call? Why would someone want that conversation? If they want to understand later, I’m open to it.”

Pochettino also decided to make his calls well before the June 1 deadline. There would be no massive pre-World Cup camp. The 26 players arriving in Atlanta were, barring injuries, the final squad. He didn’t want to raise false hopes for those who wouldn’t make it.

“If you name the 26 early, yes, it’s a shock,” he said. “But it’s better than training with the team and then being sent home. That’s cruel. I wanted to avoid that.”

Not all coaches do it his way. Some, like former USMNT manager Jürgen Klinsmann, wait until the very end, allowing players to fight for their spot in a pre-tournament camp.

‘It really hurts’

Klinsmann himself never experienced the heartbreak of missing out as a player. He was part of Germany’s 1990 World Cup-winning side and featured again in 1994 and 1998. But he saw close friends suffer. One of his closest friends, Guido Buchwald, missed the 1986 tournament—an event Klinsmann still describes as devastating.

As a coach, Klinsmann had to deliver that same painful news himself. “As a player, you see how hard it is to swallow,” he said. “Then, as a coach, you must give that message. I had to do it with Germany and the U.S.”

“With the U.S., it was seven players I had to tell at Stanford they weren’t part of the final 23. With Germany, it was four players we had to cut.”

Klinsmann was behind perhaps the most controversial roster decision in USMNT history—leaving Landon Donovan out of the 2014 squad. Twelve years later, it remains a hotly debated topic. Klinsmann had brought 30 players to camp before choosing his final 23. Donovan, Clarence Goodson, Maurice Edu, Brad Evans, Terrence Boyd, Joe Corona and Michael Parkhurst were the last cuts—told in person.

“Every coach does it differently,” Klinsmann said. “Some players might prefer a short message, but I felt it was important to tell them face-to-face. Even if they stop listening after ten seconds, that moment matters. It’s an awful conversation, and it hurts both sides. I remember being completely drained afterward.”

Getting the bad news

When Zack Steffen received Gregg Berhalter’s call before the 2022 World Cup, his first reaction was to pray. After serving as the team’s No. 1 goalkeeper for much of the cycle, missing out was crushing.

“It was really tough,” Steffen told GOAL in 2024. “After everything—COVID, injuries, getting back to form—and then not getting picked... it f*cking hurt, and it still hurts to this day.”

Several others also faced the same fate. Mark McKenzie, then 23, was another. Now 27, he’s reportedly made the 2026 squad, turning that heartbreak into motivation. “Missing out on 2022 ripped me apart,” McKenzie said. “It was gut-wrenching because I was so close. But it gave me perspective. I realised I’d lost sight of who I was.”

Ricardo Pepi and Malik Tillman also rebounded after being left out in 2022. But not everyone gets another shot. Paul Arriola, now 31, never returned to the squad after being one of the final cuts that year.

“Gregg called me in as I was grabbing my stuff,” Arriola recalled. “I didn’t even suspect I was being left out. He said he didn’t have a spot for me. I was in shock. I cried at home. Cristian Roldan told me later he cried more for me than when he got his own call.”

Injury setbacks

Like McKenzie, Pepi, and Tillman, both Chris Richards and Miles Robinson missed the 2022 World Cup—but due to injury, not selection. Robinson’s Achilles tear early that year ended his hopes instantly. “I knew right away,” he said. “It was hard to process, but I reminded myself there’s too much to be grateful for.”

Richards’ injury came just two weeks before the final squad announcement. “I missed it by two weeks,” he said. “I did all the hard parts—qualifiers, training—and then got hurt right before the reward.”

Both are back for 2026, but others weren’t as lucky. Johnny Cardoso, Patrick Agyemang, John Tolkin, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Benjamin Cremaschi all saw their chances dashed by injuries before Pochettino could make final decisions.

Watching from afar

During the 2022 tournament, Richards felt isolated. While his teammates were in Qatar, he was in London, rehabbing. “It was lonely,” he said. “I was proud of the boys, but I didn’t want anything to do with football for a while.”

Robinson also tried to make the best of it. “I was outside watching the games, cheering on my guys,” he said with a laugh. “You’re still a bit salty not to be there, but you want them to succeed.”

Some players choose to watch every game; others can’t bear to look. After being cut in 2014, Donovan joined ESPN as a pundit to stay connected. There’s no single right way to handle it—no easy way for coaches to deliver the message or for players to accept it.

As Pochettino summed it up in March, “It’s going to be really sad to make some decisions. There are only 26 spots, but that’s football. Those are the rules.”